3 killed in Abu Dhabi by Houthi drone attack

3 people were killed after 3 fuel trucks exploded and a fire broke out near Abu Dhabi airport on Monday in what Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said was an attack deep inside the United Arab Emirates, the region’s commercial and tourism hub.   

6 people were also wounded when the fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah area near storage facilities of oil firm ADNOC, state news agency WAM said.   

“Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire,” Abu Dhabi police said in a statement.   

Police closed the road leading to the area, where unverified footage on social media had shown thick black smoke.   
The Houthi’s military spokesman said the group launched a military operation “deep in the UAE”. Its chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdulsalam, whom Houthi-run media said was currently visiting Tehran, warned the UAE against “tampering in Yemen”.   

The Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE, has frequently launched cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, but has claimed few such attacks on the UAE, mostly denied by Emirati authorities.   

The move could heighten tensions between the UAE and Iran after outreach to Tehran by Abu Dhabi to avoid any regional conflict that could hurt the OPEC producer’s economic ambitions.
DUBAI, Jan 17 
(Reuters)