ABU DHABI: A suspected drone attack killed three people in a fuel tank explosion in Abu Dhabi on Monday, officials said, as Yemen's Houthi rebels declared a "military operation" in the United Arab Emirates.
Two Indians and a Pakistani were killed when three petrol tanks exploded near oil giant ADNOC's storage facility, while a construction area at the Abu Dhabi airport also caught fire.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a "military operation" in the United Arab Emirates, a partner in Yemen's pro-government coalition, would be a major escalation in the seven-year war.
Police said "small flying objects" were found at both sites, suggesting such a deliberate attack is almost unheard of in the wealthy United Arab Emirates, a well-known safe haven in the volatile Middle East.
"Preliminary investigation suggests that small flying objects, possibly related to drones, fell in two areas and may have caused explosions and fires," police said in a statement.
Although the United Arab Emirates gave few details about the incidents or the alleged perpetrators, neighboring Saudi Arabia and Gulf ally Bahrain both labeled them "terrorist" attacks.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari tweeted that the rebels' armed forces would "announce a significant military operation in the UAE in the coming hours".
And while there was no formal claim of responsibility, Abdul Ilah Hajar, an adviser to the chairman of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthis in Sanaa, said it was a warning shot on the part of the rebels.
"We have sent a clear warning message by attacking places that are not of great strategic importance," he told AFP.
"But this is a warning that if the UAE continues its hostility to Yemen, it will not be able to withstand future attacks."
'Booby-Trapped Drone'
The drone strikes are a hallmark of the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, an ally of the United Arab Emirates leading a coalition fighting for Yemen's government in a grim civil war.
Insurgents have previously threatened to target Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the gleaming crown jewel of the United Arab Emirates, which opened its first nuclear power plant last year.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry strongly condemned the "cowardly terrorist attack", while Bahrain also condemned "the terrorist Houthi militia's launch of several booby-trapped drones".
The incident follows escalation of fighting in Yemen and two weeks later rebels seized the UAE-flagged ship, the Rawabi, and released footage showing military equipment on board.
The UAE said the Rawabi, whose 11 crew are now hostage, was a "civilian cargo vessel" and called the hijacking in the busy Red Sea shipping route a "dangerous escalation".
The rebels later rejected the United Nations Security Council's demand for the ship's immediate release, saying it was "carrying not toys for children, but weapons for extremists".
Yemen's conflict is a catastrophe for millions of its citizens who have fled their homes, many of whom are on the verge of famine, which the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The UAE joined the coalition against the Houthis before announcing changes in 2019.
The pro-government giants brigade, backed by Saudis and the United Arab Emirates, recently dealt a significant blow to the rebels by retaking three districts in Shabwa province.
These conflicts were part of an escalation in violence in the devastated country, where war is being fought on multiple fronts.
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