Explosive-Laden Drones Continue to Attack Gulf Targets

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Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue to target vital energy infrastructure sites with unmanned aerial vehicles. The rebels claimed responsibility for a deadly drone attack in the United Arab Emirates. The drone attack near Abu Dhabi’s aiport killed at least three people, eight others were injured, including two airport employees and six people at another explosion site, Abu Dhabi Police said. 

Three oil tanks and a construction site at the city’s international airport were damaged.

The UAE has been part of a Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015. In 2019, the United Arab Emirates said it reduced its forces in Yemen as part of a “strategic” redeployment.

The Saudi-led coalition said they detected multiple explosive-laden drones launched from the airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which is controlled by Houthis, according to cnn.com.

The Saudi led-coalition fighting in Yemen launched airstrikes on the Yemeni capital shortly after the Houthi rebels claimed responsibility.

The Houthis have been targeting vital infrastructure by drones for already several years. In March 2021, the Houthi group perpetrated a drone attack on an oil refinery in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The group said it targeted the site with six drones.

Last September, Saudi Arabia foiled Houthi ballistic missile and booby-trapped drone attacks on the oil-rich eastern province near Aramco’s headquarters, and the cities of Najran and Jazan.