An Abu Dhabi police statement said three tanker trucks carrying fuel exploded in the emirate’s Mussafah area after catching fire, with preliminary investigations pointing to a drone attack.
One Pakistani and two Indians were killed, and six other people were injured, the UAE’s official news agency WAM said.
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they would soon make a statement about “a special military operation that was carried out in the heart of the UAE,” the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel said Monday.
Deadly attacks are extremely rare in the UAE, long considered an island of stability in a turbulent region In recent years, Houthi rebels claimed to have launched multiple attacks on the country, but Emirati authorities have denied the allegations.
“Abu Dhabi police confirmed that a fire broke out this morning, which led to the explosion of three petroleum tankers in ICAD 3, Mussafah, near ADNOC’s storage tanks,” a statement said on WAM. “A minor fire also broke out in the new construction area of Abu Dhabi International Airport.”
A CNN journalist heard two explosions with a black plume of smoke rising from the direction of the airport. CNN has also seen a fighter jet — likely belonging to the UAE — circling the area.
The UAE has been part of a Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said they detected multiple explosive-lade drones launched from the airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which is controlled by Houthis.
