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Houthi drone attack on Abu Dhabi airport blows up 3 oil tankers

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Abdus-Sattar Ghazali
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A Houthi drone attack near Abu Dhabi airport killed at least three people and sparked multiple explosions in the United Arab Emirates' capital on Monday.

CNN quoted an Abu Dhabi police statement as saying that three tanker trucks carrying fuel exploded in the emirate's Mussafah area after catching fire, with preliminary investigations pointing to a drone attack.

Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack "deep in" the United Arab Emirates. Houthi military spokesman Yahia Sarei said the group launched an attack deep in the UAE. He did not provide further details, saying a statement would be released soon.

The location of the ADNOC storage facility where the tankers caught fire is approximately 1,100 miles northeast of Saada, the Houthis' stronghold in Yemen.

Iranian media quoted Lebanese Al-Mayadeen sources as saying that Houthis used as many as 20 UAVs and 10 ballistic missiles struck targets deep in the UAE.

The Houthis have come under pressure in recent weeks and are suffering heavy losses as Yemeni forces, allied and backed by the UAE, have pushed back the rebel group in key southern and central provinces of the country, according to the Associated Press.

Yemen's government-aligned forces, aided by the UAE-backed Giants Brigades and with help from Saudi airstrikes, reclaimed the entire southern province of Shabwa from the Houthis earlier this month and made advances in nearby Marib province.

Today's attack came a few days after Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Houthi's Supreme Political Council, warned the UAE not to continue its aggressive moves in the south of Yemen otherwise it would be targeted deep inside its territories by Yemenis.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, was quoted by AP as saying that the attack is another reminder of the highly complex missile and drone threat faced by the UAE and the region's other main oil producers. "Unless the Gulf Cooperation Council states can find a solution to diffuse regional tensions or deter hostility from regional state and non-state actors, they will remain vulnerable to attacks," he added.

An expert told CNN that the Houthi rebels may be trying to deter further UAE intervention in Yemen in one of the major flashpoints in that conflict, Marib. "The intervention of the UAE-supported forces was a game-changer. This angered the Houthis," said Maged al-Madhaji, executive director and co-founder of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies. "The Houthis are trying to create some sort of balance by striking the the image of stability and security in the Emirates."

UAE takes over of Yemen's islands

Although the United Arab Emirates militarily withdrew from Yemen in 2019, it never truly left. To this day, the UAE remains a major influence in the impoverished country, and now it is exploiting Yemen's vulnerabilities by establishing a hold in Mayun Island and UNESCO-protected Socotra Island. This encroachment threatens to lengthen the devastating conflict in Yemen, according to Arwa Mokdad of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation.

Initially, the UAE was directly involved in the war as a partner to the Saudi-led coalition. In 2019, they withdrew their soldiers from Yemen. Moreover, the UAE controls several key ports and airports in Yemen.

The UAE is also in control of Socotra Island. While Socotra is technically under the rule of the Southern Transitional Council separatists who call for an independent South Yemen, the UAE is in de facto control. The island is located between the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and East Africa. Due to its strategic location near major shipping routes, the UAE has built military bases on the island, which it uses to collect intelligence on maritime traffic and monitor oil-trading channels.

Most recently, satellite imagery has shown that the UAE is building a sizable air base on the island of Mayun, which is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Five square miles in size, the island is key to the control of the Bab el-Mandeb or "Gate of Tears," Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow Center for Middle East Policy, reported in May 2021.

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Author and journalist. Author of Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality; Islam in the Post-Cold War Era; Islam & Modernism; Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America. American Muslims in Politics. Islam in the 21st Century: (more...)
 

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