SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on Monday condemned an attack on Abu Dhabi that killed and wounded civilians.
Three people were killed and six others were wounded when three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah area, according to state news agency WAM. Those killed were two Indians and a Pakistani.
A fire also broke out at a construction site at Abu Dhabi International Airport, according to police.
Abu Dhabi police said initial investigations found parts of small planes that could possibly be drones at both sites.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said the group launched a military operation “deep in the UAE”.
“We condemn the terrorist attack that targeted civilian sites in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates today,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a tweet.
“This terrorist attack is a flagrant violation of international law and a serious escalation that threatens security and stability in the region,” he added.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also denounced “today’s heinous terror attacking” on Abu Dhabi.
“This dangerous escalation is part of a pattern to destabilize the region,” he said in a tweet.
The strike on a leading Gulf Arab ally of the United States takes the war between the Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to rescue a nuclear deal.
Earlier, the Iraqi foreign ministry also condemned the attack, saying it rejects escalation in the region.
“We renew the call to resolve crises by peaceful means and through negotiations and between all concerned parties, in order to establish security and stability in the region,” it said in a statement.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and called “upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint and prevent any escalation amid heightened tensions in the region,” his spokesperson said.
The Houthi movement has frequently launched cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, but has claimed few such attacks on the UAE, mostly denied by Emirati authorities.
