The Houthi militia in Yemen, which is associated with Iran, launched an attack on the United Arab Emirates on Monday, setting off bombs in fuel trucks that killed three people and created a fire near Abu Dhabi’s airport, prompting US condemnation.
The US strike on a key Gulf Arab partner escalates the conflict between the Houthi movement and a Saudi-led coalition, potentially complicating efforts to de-escalate regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to save the nuclear deal.
“The UAE strongly condemns the Houthi militia’s terrorist attack on Emirati areas and civilian infrastructure…
The foreign ministry declared in a statement that “it will not go unpunished.” “The United Arab Emirates reserves the right to retaliate against these terrorist actions and criminal escalation.”
“The United States strongly condemns today’s terrorist incident in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which killed three innocent civilians,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a statement. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack, and we will cooperate with the UAE and other international partners to bring them to justice.”
The attack was carried out by missiles and drones, according to the Houthi organisation.
The United Arab Emirates, which is a member of the Saudi-led coalition, has armed and trained local Yemeni forces that have lately joined the war against the Houthis in Yemen’s energy-producing Shabwa and Marib provinces.
“With time running out for (nuclear) negotiations, the possibility of a worsening in the region’s security climate is growing,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, lead MENA analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
The Houthi movement has routinely undertaken cross-border missile and drone assaults against Saudi Arabia, but has only claimed a few such attacks against the UAE, which have been mainly denied by Emirati officials.
Five ballistic missiles and “a big number” of drones were launched towards Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, an oil refinery in Musaffah, and various “strategic and critical” facilities in the UAE, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea. C6N2TI01B
Three persons were killed and six were injured, according to Abu Dhabi police, when three fuel tanker tankers detonated near ADNOC storage facilities in the industrial Musaffah district. Two Indians and a Pakistani, according to state media, were slain.
Initial investigations near Musaffah and the Abu Dhabi airport turned out components of small planes that could have been drones, but no missiles, according to Abu Dhabi police.
