A gigantic fire broke out in Abu Dhabi on Monday, January 17, resulting in“explosion” of three tank trucks carrying fuel. The official record is three dead and six injured “mild to moderate”. L’explosion and fire “probably” been caused by “drones”, from “flying objects” being “fallen down” at the places affected, saccording to the police of the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. “The armed forces carried out a qualitative and successful military operation in the framework of an operation dubbed Yemen Hurricane”, said their spokesperson, Yahya Saree, in a statement broadcast on their Al-Massira channel. “Number of significant and sensitive Emirati sites and facilities” were targeted with ballistic missiles and drones, he said. The latter warned that future attacks could follow, calling on civilians and foreign companies to avoid the “vital sites” in the country.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – An industrial area in Abu Dhabi was the target of a drone attack on Monday morning. Three tank trucks exploded, causing no casualties. Houthi rebels, based in Yemen, claim responsibility for the aerial incursion (i24). pic.twitter.com/DdzVKiVohv
— The Globe (@TheGlobe_info) January 17, 2022
The attack was condemned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called “all parties to exercise maximum restraint”, according to his spokesperson. The United States has promised to “accountability” to the Yemeni rebels. France condemned “with the greatest firmness” the attack that “threatens the security of the territory of the United Arab Emirates and the stability of the region”, said the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a press release.
The Emirates are members of the Saudi-led military coalition that has been operating in Yemen since 2015 to support government forces against the Houthis, Iran-backed insurgents. In response to the Houthi attack, the first to kill on Emirati soil, this coalition announced that it had carried out air raids on Sanaa, the capital of Yemen in the hands of the insurgents. No indication could be obtained immediately on possible victims.