Three killed in suspected drone attack on UAE capital, claimed by Yemen rebels

Police said three petroleum tanker trucks exploded in an area close to Abu Dhabi’s port, near storage facilities used by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Separately, a “minor fire” occurred in a construction area of Abu Dhabi’s International Airport, the statement said, adding that a preliminary investigation found objects that were possibly drones in the two locations.

The rebels, known as the Houthis, are supported by Iran and have frequently carried out drone attacks during Yemen’s years-long civil war that has pitted the rebels against an array of local factions, including the country’s Saudi Arabia-backed government. The Houthis have also claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks beyond Yemen’s border, mostly targeting areas in Saudi Arabia but also the UAE, claims that were previously denied by the Emirati authorities.

The attacks Monday were the latest sign of how the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people since it began seven years ago, and sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, continues to destabilize the wider Persian Gulf region.

Nasraddin Amer, the deputy minister of information in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, confirmed that the rebel forces had carried out an attack and said they was launched in response to the “UAE’s escalation” in Shabwa and Marib, two contested provinces in Yemen. The UAE has backed anti-Houthi factions in the war.

For the past year, fighting has been largely focused in Yemen’s central Marib province, home to key oil and gas infrastructure that is currently controlled by the internationally recognized government. The Houthi advance on Marib has caused a displacement crisis and hampered international efforts to put an end to the war.

More recently, fighting has picked up in nearby Shabwa province. Last week, the Giants Brigade, a Yemeni force backed by the UAE., reportedly announced that they had wrested control of Shabwa from the Houthis.

Fahim reported from Istanbul, O’Grady reported from Cairo.

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