A suspected drone strike by Houthi rebels on the United Arab Emirates has killed three people, including a Pakistani national, in explosions caused by oil tankers exploding.
One Pakistani and two Indian nationals were killed and six others were injured in the blasts, according to AFP.
Saudi Arabia has been the target of frequent drone strikes by Houthi rebels, but fewer have been carried out in the UAE, and most of them have been thwarted by UAE authorities.
At least three people were killed and six others were injured when three fuel tankers exploded in the oil storage area of oil company Adnak in the industrial area of Masafa, according to Reuters.
Abu Dhabi police said in a statement that preliminary investigations had found some fragments of a plane from the crash site, indicating that the explosion and fire may have been the result of an internal attack, but no major damage was reported. ۔
A Houthi military spokesman told Reuters he had carried out an operation inside the UAE and would release details in the next few hours.
UAE-backed coalition forces continue to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen's oil-rich Shabwa and Marb areas.
In 2019, due to rising tensions with Iran, the UAE significantly reduced the number of its troops in Yemen and repatriated them, but their influence on local forces remains due to the provision of weapons and training to the Yemeni army.
The Houthi rebels ousted the internationally recognized government from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014, after which coalition forces, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, intervened.
In July 2018, the United Arab Emirates rejected reports of a Houthi rebel drone strike on Abu Dhabi Airport.
In December 2017, Houthi rebels claimed to have fired cruise missiles at Abu Dhabi's nuclear power plants, but the UAE denied those claims.
