UAE vows reprisals for 3 dead in ‘heinous Houthi attack’ on Abu Dhabi

The UAE vows reprisals after a suspected drone attack today that it blames on Yemen’s Houthi rebels triggered a fuel tank blast that killed three people in Abu Dhabi.

The United Arab Emirates is part of a Saudi-led military coalition that supports Yemen’s government against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia with cross-border strikes.

But this is the first deadly assault on its own soil that the UAE has blamed on the rebels, and while there has so far been no direct claim of responsibility by the Houthis, they announced earlier a “military operation” in the UAE.

Two Indians and a Pakistani working for oil giant ADNOC died as three petrol tanks exploded near a storage facility, while a fire also ignited in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport in the heart of the UAE, a renowned safe haven in the volatile Middle East.

An aerial view taken on January 1, 2022, from a passenger plane shows a general view of the Gulf Emirate of Dubai with the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, in the background. (Marina PASSOS / AFP)