Nervous Abu Dhabi gas cylinder explosion raises alarm

DUBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) – An explosion in a building in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi raised alarms on Wednesday, with the U.S. embassy initially raising suspicions of a possible missile attack.

The UAE, known as a safe hub for business and tourism, has been under strain in recent weeks. Missile and drone strikes Blame the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Abu Dhabi Civil Defence said it received a report at 12.09am (GMT 2009) of a fire from a gas cylinder explosion in a building in the central residential area. It said there were no casualties and asked the public to focus only on official news sources and avoid spreading rumours.

“Special teams put out the fire, evacuated the building as a precaution and brought the situation under control,” the civil protection authority said in a statement to state media.

Earlier, the US embassy had issued a warning of “possible reports of missile or drone strikes”. A U.S. embassy spokesman later told Reuters that the warning came against the backdrop of recent security incidents and thanked emergency workers in Abu Dhabi for quickly bringing the fire under control.

Yemen’s Houthis did not issue a statement on Wednesday about the attack. The movement, which fights a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE, claims to have carried out three attacks on the UAE since the start of the year, including one that killed three people. The fourth attack, involving drones the UAE said was intercepted, was claimed by a separate, little-known group.

Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Writing by Lisa Barrington, Editing by Leslie Adler, Robert Birsel, Peter Graff

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