Drone attack in Abu Dhabi claimed by Yemen's rebels kills 3

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DUBAI – A drone onslaught claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeting a cardinal lipid installation successful Abu Dhabi killed 3 radical connected Monday and sparked a occurrence astatine Abu Dhabi's planetary airport.

Emirati constabulary identified the dormant arsenic 2 Indian nationals and 1 Pakistani. Several radical were besides wounded astatine an concern country wherever Abu Dhabi's state-owned vigor institution runs a pipeline web and an lipid tanker retention facility. The constabulary said they suffered insignificant to mean injuries.

Senior Emirati diplomat Anwar Gargash blamed the Houthis for the attack, saying connected Twitter that Emirati authorities were handling the rebel group's “vicious onslaught connected immoderate civilian facilities" successful the UAE's superior with “transparency and responsibility.”

“The tampering of the region's information by violent militias is excessively anemic to impact the stableness and information successful which we live," helium tweeted.

Three transport tankers caught occurrence astatine the lipid facility, portion different occurrence was sparked astatine an hold of Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Police said an probe was underway and that preliminary findings bespeak determination were tiny flying objects, perchance belonging to drones, that fell successful the 2 areas and whitethorn person caused the detonation and fire. They said determination was nary important harm from the incidents, without offering further details.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed they were down an onslaught targeting the United Arab Emirates connected Monday, but they did not connection details. Although the UAE has mostly withdrawn its ain forces from the warfare successful Yemen, it is inactive actively engaged successful the struggle and supports Yemeni militias warring the Houthis.

The incidental comes arsenic the Houthis look unit and are suffering dense losses. Yemeni forces, allied and backed by the UAE, person pushed backmost the rebels successful cardinal confederate and cardinal provinces, dashing Houthi efforts to implicit their power of the full bluish fractional of Yemen.

Yemen’s government-aligned forces reclaimed the full confederate state of Shabwa from the Houthis earlier this period and made advances successful adjacent Marib province. They were aided by the UAE-backed Giants Brigades and had assistance from Saudi airstrikes.

Saudi Arabia condemned Monday’s onslaught targeting Abu Dhabi, describing it arsenic “a cowardly violent attack” that shows the dangers posed by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia, arsenic good arsenic the United States, U.N. experts and others person accused Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis.

The UAE was a cardinal subordinate of the Saudi-led conjugation that has waged warfare against the Houthis since 2015, trying to reconstruct the internationally backed government, ousted by the rebels the erstwhile year.

While Emirati troops person been killed implicit the people of the conflict, present successful its 8 year, the warfare has not straight affected regular beingness successful the wider UAE, a state with a immense overseas workforce that is besides location to Dubai, a glitzy metropolis of skyscrapers and five-star hotels.

The airdrome occurrence successful Abu Dhabi was described by constabulary arsenic “minor” and took spot astatine an hold of the planetary airdrome that is inactive nether construction. For years, the airdrome location to Etihad Airways has been gathering its caller Midfield Terminal, but it was not wide if that was wherever the occurrence took place.

Etihad Airways said “precautionary measures resulted successful a abbreviated disruption for a tiny fig of flights” and that airdrome operations person returned to normal. Abu Dhabi Airports did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The different blast struck 3 petroleum transport tankers adjacent a analyzable for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. successful the Musaffah concern area. The institution describes it arsenic a pipeline and terminal installation located immoderate 22 kilometers (13 miles) from the halfway of the metropolis of Abu Dhabi, wherever 36 retention tanks besides proviso transport trucks carrying fuel.

It is besides a abbreviated region from Al-Dhafra Air Base, a subject installation that hosts U.S. and French forces. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Clark, the Al-Dhafra Air Base commandant for American forces, said successful a connection to The Associated Press that “no incidents” affected the basal amid the attack.

“U.S. forces are acceptable and disposable to assistance and enactment their Emirati partners if requested,” helium said.

The determination of the ADNOC installation wherever the tankers caught occurrence is astir 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold successful Yemen.

The incidental comes arsenic South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in is visiting the UAE. During a gathering with Emirati Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum connected Sunday, the 2 countries reportedly reached a preliminary woody valued astatine immoderate $3.5 cardinal merchantability mid-range South Korean surface-to-air missiles to the UAE.

At an lawsuit attended by the South Korean president earlier successful the day, Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei declined to remark connected the detonation astatine ADNOC's facility, telling the AP lone that constabulary would supply updates connected their investigation.

The Houthis person utilized bomb-laden drones to motorboat crude and imprecise attacks aimed astatine Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The radical has besides launched missiles astatine Saudi airports, lipid facilities and pipelines, and utilized booby-trapped boats for attacks successful cardinal shipping routes.

Earlier this month, the Houthis seized an Emirati-flagged vessel successful the Red Sea, a important way for planetary commercialized and vigor shipments.

Though determination person been civilian deaths successful Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, determination had been nary deaths antecedently reported successful the UAE.

The overwhelming fig of civilian deaths successful the struggle person been successful Yemen. The warfare has killed 130,000 radical successful Yemen — some civilians and fighters — and has exacerbated hunger and famine crossed the impoverished country.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an expert astatine the hazard quality institution Verisk Maplecroft, noted that portion the Houthis person claimed work for an onslaught connected the UAE, Iraqi-based militias person besides threatened the UAE successful effect to alleged Emirati interference successful Iraqi politics.

He said the onslaught highlights the rocket and drone menace faced by the UAE and the region’s different main lipid producers. He said unless Gulf Arab states find a solution to diffuse wider determination tensions "they volition stay susceptible to attacks.”

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Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre and Jon Gambrell successful Dubai and Samy Magdy successful Cairo contributed to this report.

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