UAE says reserves right to respond after Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi kills 3, including Pakistani
A possible drone attack may have sparked an explosion that struck three oil tankers in Abu Dhabi and another fire at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport on Monday that killed three people and wounded six, police said.
Abu Dhabi police identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani. It did not identify the wounded, who police said suffered minor or moderate wounds.
Police said an investigation was underway. Later in the day, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation condemned the suspected drone attack and vowed to punish the perpetrators.
According to Khaleej Times, the ministry said in a statement that "the UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”
Terming the incident an act of a “heinous crime” committed by the Houthi militia, in violation of international and humanitarian laws, the ministry said the group continued to "spread terror and chaos in the region to destabilise it".
The ministry urged the international community to condemn the acts that target civilians and civilian facilities, according to the Khaleej Times report.
The report said that the ministry also expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels had earlier claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates, without elaborating. The Iranian-backed Houthis have claimed several attacks that Emirati officials later denied took place.
The incident comes while Yemen’s years-long war rages on and as an Emirati-flagged vessel found itself recently captured by the Houthis. That’s as Abu Dhabi largely has withdrawn its national forces from the conflict tearing apart the Arab world’s poorest nation while still supporting local militias there.
Abu Dhabi police said preliminary investigations indicated the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire. They said there was no significant damage from the incidents, without offering further details.
Police described the airport fire as “minor” and said it took place at an extension of the international airport that is still under construction.
For years, the airport home to Etihad Airways has been building its new Midfield Terminal, but it wasn’t clear if that was where the fire took place.
The airport and Etihad did not immediately respond to requests for comment, however, there were a series of flights delayed on Monday morning.
Police said the other blast struck three petroleum transport tankers near a storage facility for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in the Musaffah area.
The neighbourhood, 22 kilometres (13 miles) from the centre of Abu Dhabi city, also has an oil pipeline network and 36 storage tanks, from which transport trucks carry fuel nationwide.
On Monday, Houthi military spokesman Yahia Sarei said the group launched an attack deep in the UAE. He did not provide further details, saying a statement would be released soon.
The location of the ADNOC storage facility where the tankers caught fire is approximately 1,800kms (1,100 miles) northeast of Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in Yemen.
A possible drone attack may have sparked an explosion that struck three oil tankers in Abu Dhabi and another fire at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport on Monday that killed three people and wounded six, police said.
Abu Dhabi police identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani. It did not identify the wounded, who police said suffered minor or moderate wounds.
Police said an investigation was underway. Later in the day, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation condemned the suspected drone attack and vowed to punish the perpetrators.
According to Khaleej Times, the ministry said in a statement that "the UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”
Terming the incident an act of a “heinous crime” committed by the Houthi militia, in violation of international and humanitarian laws, the ministry said the group continued to "spread terror and chaos in the region to destabilise it".
The ministry urged the international community to condemn the acts that target civilians and civilian facilities, according to the Khaleej Times report.
The report said that the ministry also expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels had earlier claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates, without elaborating. The Iranian-backed Houthis have claimed several attacks that Emirati officials later denied took place.
The incident comes while Yemen’s years-long war rages on and as an Emirati-flagged vessel found itself recently captured by the Houthis. That’s as Abu Dhabi largely has withdrawn its national forces from the conflict tearing apart the Arab world’s poorest nation while still supporting local militias there.
Abu Dhabi police said preliminary investigations indicated the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire. They said there was no significant damage from the incidents, without offering further details.
Police described the airport fire as “minor” and said it took place at an extension of the international airport that is still under construction.
For years, the airport home to Etihad Airways has been building its new Midfield Terminal, but it wasn’t clear if that was where the fire took place.
The airport and Etihad did not immediately respond to requests for comment, however, there were a series of flights delayed on Monday morning.
Police said the other blast struck three petroleum transport tankers near a storage facility for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in the Musaffah area.
The neighbourhood, 22 kilometres (13 miles) from the centre of Abu Dhabi city, also has an oil pipeline network and 36 storage tanks, from which transport trucks carry fuel nationwide.
On Monday, Houthi military spokesman Yahia Sarei said the group launched an attack deep in the UAE. He did not provide further details, saying a statement would be released soon.
The location of the ADNOC storage facility where the tankers caught fire is approximately 1,800kms (1,100 miles) northeast of Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in Yemen.