A drone attack claimed by Yemen’s Huthi Rebels in UAE triggered a fuel tank blast taking the lives of three people on Monday. The United Arab Emirates is currently a part of the Saudi-led military coalition which is known to support the government of Yemen against the Huthi rebels who are backed by Iran. These rebels have targeted Saudi Arabia repeatedly by striking across the border.
This is the first time an assault has turned deadly on the soil which has also been acknowledged by the United Arab Emirates. This attack was claimed by the rebels, they stated that they had fired ballistic missiles and had also deployed armed drones.
Amongst the three people who were killed, two of them were Indians and one was a Pakistani national. All three were working for the oil giant ADNOC. They died when the petrol tank near a storage facility exploded. A fire also got ignited in a construction area located at the Abu Dhabi airport. The police reported that some small flying objects that can possibly belong to the drones were found at both sites of attack. The attacks through drones have been a trademark of the assaults by the rebels.
Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister of the UAE has given his statement on the matter saying that the Huthi Terrorist attack on civilian areas and facilities on the UAE soil is highly condemned and this attack will not go unpunished. He described the attack as a heinous criminal escalation. Huthi Military spokesperson also gave a statement and said that they had carried out a military operation successfully against the important and sensitive Emirati installations and sites using drones and ballistic missiles.
There has been a surge in the incidents in Yemen which includes advances made by the UAE-trained troops. The rebels in an attack earlier this month also managed to seize one of the UAE flagged ships and the international crew aboard. The terrorist attack was also condemned by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai were previously threatened to be targeted by the rebels previously. Advisor to the President of the Huthi’s Supreme Political Council, Abdul Ilah Hajar has said that the rebels had sent a clear warning message by hitting places that are not of strategic importance previously. He further added that if the UAE continues to be hostile towards Yemen, it will not be able to withstand the coming strikes in the near future.
The clashes have been going on for quite some time now, these are part of the rapid surge in violence in a country that is shattered and the war is fought on many fronts.
