Suspected drone attack kills three in Abu Dhabi and raises tensions
Yemen’s Houthi forces claim strikes, which follow pressure on Iran to kickstart nuclear talks with US
Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for an apparent drone attack in Abu Dhabi that killed three people and is likely to raise regional tensions as a crucial phase nears in nuclear discussions with Iran.
The strikes, which also injured six people, left flames billowing from an oil storage site near the airport of the United Arab Emirates’ capital. A separate explosion, which is also thought to have been caused by a drone, caused minor damage. Two Indian nationals and one Pakistani were killed amid the fireballs. All the wounded were reported to be lightly hurt.
The attack was quickly claimed by the Houthi leadership, and acknowledged by UAE police as likely to have been launched by small flying objects. It marks a sharp escalation in hostilities between both during a seven-year war in Yemen that has ground increasingly towards a stalemate.
The Houthis had recently threatened to launch strikes against the UAE after losing the key area of Shabwa, which is near the city of Ma’arib in north-east Yemen and is regarded as central to the fate of the war. Saudi forces and UAE-backed ground troops played roles in pushing back the Houthi advance. Shia militias in Iraq had also threatened attacks on the UAE in recent days, raising suggestions the attacks in Abu Dhabi may have been coordinated on some level.
The Saudi-led coalition said later on Monday it had downed three drones in southern Saudi Arabia. It provided no evidence to support the claims. However, the country has been targeted by drones and missiles fired from Yemen throughout the war.
The Abu Dhabi strike follows pressure on Iran, a key backer of the Houthis, to agree to kickstart direct talks with the US about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which Donald Trump withdrew the US in 2018. Joe Biden has said he will return to the deal if Iran abides by its terms and lift crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy.
After playing a prominent and unusually public role earlier in the war, the UAE has tried to disengage from Yemen in the past three years. It has continued to back selected forces on the ground but at the same time has tried to engage Iran through trade deals. Saudi Arabia has also been seeking ways to end the war and was quick to respond to overtures from Iran to hold talks in Baghdad aimed at achieving that.
However, Saudi airstrikes continue to be regular features of the fighting, which has also led to acts of piracy in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. A UAE-flagged tanker, the Rwabee, was hijacked by Houthis on New Year’s Day. Shipments of weapons and other supplies to the Houthis have also been intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition.
UAE police said one of Monday’s drone strikes hit three petroleum transport tankers near a storage facility for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co in the Musaffah area. The district 13 miles (22km) from the centre of Abu Dhabi also has an oil pipeline network and 36 storage tanks, from which lorriestransport fuel nationwide. The site is roughly 1,100 miles from the closest Houthi stronghold in Yemen.
On Monday, a Houthi military spokesperson, Yahia Sarei, said the group launched an attack deep inside the UAE. He said a statement elaborating on his claims would soon be released.
The incident came as South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, visited the UAE. During Moon’s meeting with the UAE prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Sunday, the two countries reportedly reached a preliminary deal for UAE to buy about $3.5bn (£2.6bn) worth of mid-range South Korean surface-to-air missiles. The Houthis have claimed previous attacks on Abu Dhabi’s airport, as well as the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant – claims that Emirati officials have denied in the past.
The Houthis have used bomb-laden drones to launch crude and imprecise attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the course of the war. The group has also launched missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and pipelines, as well as used booby-trapped boats for attacks in key shipping routes.
Though there have been civilian deaths in Saudi Arabia from some of these attacks, the overwhelming number of civilian fatalities have been in Yemen. The war has killed 130,000 people in Yemen – both civilians and fighters – and has exacerbated hunger and famine across the impoverished country.
The strikes, which also injured six people, left flames billowing from an oil storage site near the airport of the United Arab Emirates’ capital. A separate explosion, which is also thought to have been caused by a drone, caused minor damage. Two Indian nationals and one Pakistani were killed amid the fireballs. All the wounded were reported to be lightly hurt.
The attack was quickly claimed by the Houthi leadership, and acknowledged by UAE police as likely to have been launched by small flying objects. It marks a sharp escalation in hostilities between both during a seven-year war in Yemen that has ground increasingly towards a stalemate.
The Houthis had recently threatened to launch strikes against the UAE after losing the key area of Shabwa, which is near the city of Ma’arib in north-east Yemen and is regarded as central to the fate of the war. Saudi forces and UAE-backed ground troops played roles in pushing back the Houthi advance. Shia militias in Iraq had also threatened attacks on the UAE in recent days, raising suggestions the attacks in Abu Dhabi may have been coordinated on some level.
The Saudi-led coalition said later on Monday it had downed three drones in southern Saudi Arabia. It provided no evidence to support the claims. However, the country has been targeted by drones and missiles fired from Yemen throughout the war.
The Abu Dhabi strike follows pressure on Iran, a key backer of the Houthis, to agree to kickstart direct talks with the US about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which Donald Trump withdrew the US in 2018. Joe Biden has said he will return to the deal if Iran abides by its terms and lift crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy.
After playing a prominent and unusually public role earlier in the war, the UAE has tried to disengage from Yemen in the past three years. It has continued to back selected forces on the ground but at the same time has tried to engage Iran through trade deals. Saudi Arabia has also been seeking ways to end the war and was quick to respond to overtures from Iran to hold talks in Baghdad aimed at achieving that.
However, Saudi airstrikes continue to be regular features of the fighting, which has also led to acts of piracy in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. A UAE-flagged tanker, the Rwabee, was hijacked by Houthis on New Year’s Day. Shipments of weapons and other supplies to the Houthis have also been intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition.
UAE police said one of Monday’s drone strikes hit three petroleum transport tankers near a storage facility for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co in the Musaffah area. The district 13 miles (22km) from the centre of Abu Dhabi also has an oil pipeline network and 36 storage tanks, from which lorriestransport fuel nationwide. The site is roughly 1,100 miles from the closest Houthi stronghold in Yemen.
On Monday, a Houthi military spokesperson, Yahia Sarei, said the group launched an attack deep inside the UAE. He said a statement elaborating on his claims would soon be released.
The incident came as South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, visited the UAE. During Moon’s meeting with the UAE prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Sunday, the two countries reportedly reached a preliminary deal for UAE to buy about $3.5bn (£2.6bn) worth of mid-range South Korean surface-to-air missiles. The Houthis have claimed previous attacks on Abu Dhabi’s airport, as well as the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant – claims that Emirati officials have denied in the past.
The Houthis have used bomb-laden drones to launch crude and imprecise attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the course of the war. The group has also launched missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and pipelines, as well as used booby-trapped boats for attacks in key shipping routes.
Though there have been civilian deaths in Saudi Arabia from some of these attacks, the overwhelming number of civilian fatalities have been in Yemen. The war has killed 130,000 people in Yemen – both civilians and fighters – and has exacerbated hunger and famine across the impoverished country.
