Abu Dhabi drone attack update

A suspected drone assault blew up fuel tanks near a major oil storage facility in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, killing three persons and injuring six more. When a suspected drone assault was reported at Abu Dhabi’s new International Airport on Monday, three persons were murdered – one Pakistani and two Indian nationals – and six others were injured. According to WAM, the six injured had injuries ranging from minor to moderate, according to Al-Arabiya English in Dubai.

“The explosion at Mussafah, near ADNOC’s storage tanks, caused three casualties, including two Indian citizens, according to UAE authorities. For more information, the Indian Mission in the UAE is in contact with the relevant UAE authorities “The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi sent out a tweet.

This is Houthi rebels’ second attack on Indians this month, after they captured a UAE-flagged ship in the Red Sea near Yemen’s coast and held its crew, including seven Indians, prisoner. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi stated it was waiting for confirmation of the identities of the two Indians slain and that it was in “close contact with UAE authorities.”

Columns of black smoke billowed from the Musaffah Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD)-3 region just outside the UAE capital, according to eyewitness claims and footage shared on social media. A drone strike in the port area, where ADNOC storage facilities are located, is thought to be the cause of the fire. About 25 kilometres distant, a smaller fire was put out near the Abu Dhabi international airport’s new construction area.

According to a Reuters story, “initial investigations uncovered parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and fire,” Abu Dhabi police said.

The Houthi rebels, who are fighting the Yemeni government, which is backed by a Saudi-UAE alliance, claimed to have carried out a “military operation” in the UAE, but Emirati officials have not confirmed this. According to Arabic media, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said the purported bombing was a “message” to the UAE to “stop intervening in Yemen.”

The Houthi movement, which is thought to be backed by Iran, has previously claimed to have carried out a number of drone assaults against Saudi Arabian oil sites. Despite the UAE withdrawing army support to Yemen two years ago and talks between the UAE National Security Advisor and Iranian officials on regional security in Tehran in December 2021, the attacks have continued.