Multiple fatalities are being reported after terrorist drone strike set off explosions in fuel trucks and caused a fire near the airport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates’ commercial and tourism hub.
The United Arab Emirates was attacked in what it said was an operation using both missiles and drones, which set off explosions in fuel trucks, killing three people and wounding six. Among those killed were two Indians and a Pakistani, according to state media.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which takes the war between the Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level. The United Arab Emirates is a member of the Saudi-led coalition, and has armed and trained local Yemeni forces who have recently joined fighting against the Houthis in Yemen’s Shabwa and Marib regions.
“The UAE condemns this terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on areas and civilian facilities on Emirati soil… (It) will not go unpunished,” the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry said. “The UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”
Many experts are now saying that this strike may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions at a time when the White House is desperately trying to reenter the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal.
“With (nuclear) negotiators running out of time, the risk of a deterioration in the region’s security climate is rising,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal MENA analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
In a phone call with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the attack. White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke out about the drone strikes, saying that the administration would work to hold the Houthis accountable.
The terrorist group have frequently launched attacks across the border at Saudi Arabia, but have rarely done so towards the United Arab Emirates.
While claiming responsibility for the attack, Yahya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesman, said that the group fired five ballistic missiles and “a large number” of drones at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, an oil refinery in Musaffah, and several “sensitive” sites in the UAE.
