Two Indians among three killed in Houthi forces’ attack in Abu Dhabi

Two Indians and a Pakistani were killed as a suspected drone blew up petrol tanks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday (January 17), the local media reported. Six others were injured in the attack, the responsibility for which was taken by Yemen’s pro-Iran Houthi movement.

Videos posted on Twitter showed thick black smoke billowing from a tank, located close to an oil storage facility.

Local media reports suggested that three fuel tanks of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company exploded, but said the cause was unknown. However, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree told a new channel that it had carried out the military operation and would share the details soon.

WAM news group quoted police sources to say initial probe “found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire”.

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A few days back, the Houthis, also called Ansar Allah, had seized a UAE ship.

Yemen is in the middle of a conflict between President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi’s government and the Houthi rebels. Hadi is backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Though the UAE has cut down on its military presence in Yemen since last two years, it still is an influential player in the civil war in Yemen as it provides monetary and military support to Hadi’s forces.

The Houthis are backed by Iran. While the rebel group had effected several attacks on Saudi Arabia since the start of the civil war, Monday’s attack on the UAE was probably the first on this country.

Analysts say the Yemeni Civil War is actually a proxy war between Saudi Arabia (supported by the UAE) and Iran, the two big and influential players in West Asia.