3 killed in UAE fuel truck blast; Yemen Houthis claim attack

DUBAI • Three fuel trucks exploded, killing three people, and a fire broke out near Abu Dhabi airport yesterday in what Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group said was an attack in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the region's commercial and tourism hub.

If confirmed, a Houthi drone strike on the UAE capital would take the war between the group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Teheran work to rescue a nuclear deal.

The UAE, a member of the coalition, has armed and trained local Yemeni forces that recently joined the fighting against the Houthis in Yemen's energy-producing Shabwa and Marib regions.

"With (nuclear) negotiators running out of time, the risk of a deterioration in the region's security climate is rising," said Mr Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East, North Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The Houthi movement 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.

Three people were killed and six hurt when three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah area near storage facilities of oil firm ADNOC, state news agency WAM said. It said the victims were two Indians and a Pakistani.

Unverified footage on social media earlier showed a thick plume of black smoke billowing from what appeared to be Musaffah. Police closed the road leading to the area.

"Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion," Abu Dhabi police said, adding that there was no significant damage.

An Etihad Airways spokesman said a small number of flights were briefly disrupted at Abu Dhabi airport, but normal operations quickly resumed.

The Houthis' military spokesman said the group launched a military operation "deep in the UAE". Its chief negotiator, Mr Mohammed Abdulsalam, who Houthi-run media said was currently visiting Teheran, warned the UAE against "tampering in Yemen".

If confirmed, a Houthi strike could derail the UAE and wider Gulf dialogue with Iran, said UAE political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla. "The UAE is not going to take this very lightly," he said, adding that it was still too early to assess Abu Dhabi's response.

The Yemen war is seen as a proxy fight between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran. But both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had moved to engage directly with Iran in recent months to avoid any wider conflict that could hurt regional economic ambitions.

The incidents coincided with a visit to the UAE by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A Blue House official said a summit between Mr Moon and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed was cancelled due to an "unforeseen and urgent matter of state".

REUTERS