Three people were killed in a suspected drone attack in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, which involved two Indians and one Pakistani national.
The incident happened when three petrol tanks blew up near a storage facility of an oil giant company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). A fire also erupted in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport.
The company released the official statement, “ADNOC is deeply saddened to confirm that three colleagues have died. A further six colleagues were injured and received immediate specialist medical care.”
Police found small flying objects at both places and claimed that they have never witnessed such a huge attack in the peaceful country of the Middle East.
The Foreign Ministry of UAE said, “The UAE condemns this terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on areas and civilian facilities on Emirati soil…(It) will not go unpunished.”
It further added, “The UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”
A small number of flights were briefly stopped by Etihad Airways at the airport but after a few hours, normal operations were resumed.
Police said, “Preliminary investigations indicate the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire.”
These attacks have been claimed by the Iran-backed rebel group, Houthi in Yemen.
The Deputy Minister of Information Nasraddin Amer in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the capital of Yemen confirmed that the rebel forces had carried out an attack. This attack was launched in reaction to the “UAE’s escalation” in two contested provinces of Yemen, Shabwa and Marib.
The visit of the South Korean President, Moon Jae In to the UAE was also called off due to the current situation. The summit was planned between the South Korean President and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.
UAE is backing Saudi Arabia in a war with Yemen that has been going on for the last seven years.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also condemned the attack and dubbed it as a “cowardly, terrorist” attack.
