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Imagery from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed thick smoke rising over the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company fuel depot near Mussafah in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Another photo taken shortly after showed scorch marks and white fire-fighting foam on the warehouse floor.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is a state-owned energy company that provides most of the wealth in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula and home to Dubai.
ADNOC did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the site and estimates of damage from the attack. The company said the attack happened around 10 a.m. Monday.
“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to determine the exact cause and have launched a detailed investigation,” ADNOC said in an earlier statement.
The attack killed two Indian nationals and a Pakistani and three oil tankers exploded at the scene, police said. Six people were also injured at the facility, which is near the Al-Dhafra Air Base, a huge Emirati facility that is also home to US and French troops.
Another fire also hit Abu Dhabi International Airport, but no damage was seen from this attack. Police described the attack as a suspected drone strike.
Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, blamed the attack on the Houthis and said on Twitter that Emirati authorities were dealing with “transparent and responsible” rebel groups in the United Arab Emirates capital” Malicious attacks on some civilian facilities”.
“The intervention of terrorist militias in the security of the region is too weak to affect the stability and security of our lives,” he said.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed they were behind the attack on “sensitive Emirati facilities”.
At a news conference late Monday, army spokesman Yehia Sarea said without providing evidence that the Houthis had targeted Abu Dhabi with ballistic missiles and an explosive-laden drone. Airports in Dubai and Dubai, as well as an oil refinery and other locations in the UAE. Dubai Airport was operating as normal on Monday.
At dawn on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen announced that it had begun a bombing campaign against Houthi bases in the capital Sanaa.
An overnight video released by the Houthis showed the destruction, with the rebels saying the strike had killed at least 12 people.
An international aid worker in Sana’a said civilians were among the dead. He said the airstrike hit the house of a senior military officer, who was killed along with his wife and son. The worker requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Although the UAE has largely withdrawn its own troops from Yemen, it remains actively involved in the conflict and supports Yemeni militias fighting the Houthis.
The incident came as the Houthis faced pressure and suffered heavy losses.Yemeni government forces, allied and supported by the government United Arab Emirates, repelled the rebels in key provinces.
With the help of the UAE-backed Giant Brigade, government forces recaptured Shabwa province earlier this month in a fight against Houthi attempts to complete control of all of northern Yemen.
Condemnation for the attack on the UAE poured in from around the world.
US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said the US would work with the UAE and international partners to hold the Houthis accountable, adding that “we stand with our UAE partners against all threats to their territory.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack as “prohibited by international law” and urged all parties to “prevent any escalation amid heightened tensions in the region,” spokesman Stephen Dujarric said.
Dujarric added that Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, would travel to Riyadh to meet with Saudi and Yemeni officials on Yemen’s “recent military escalation”.
Saudi Arabia and many other Arab countries denounced the attack as a “cowardly terrorist attack”.
The kingdom, along with the United States, UN experts and others, have accused Iran of arming the Houthis.
The UAE is a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that has waged war against the Houthis since 2015 in an attempt to restore power to an internationally-backed government toppled by rebels the previous year.
Although it has been eight years since Emirati troops lost their lives in the course of the conflict, the war has not directly affected daily life in the UAE, a country with a large foreign workforce.
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