US condemns deadly Houthi drone attack on UAE oil facility near Al-Dhafra

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The White House “strongly condemns” a deadly Houthi attack on an Abu Dhabi oil facility and promises “the U.S. will work with the UAE and international partners to hold them accountable.”

A drone attack claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting a key oil facility in Abu Dhabi killed three people on Monday and sparked a fire at Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

Emirati police identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani. Several people were also wounded at an industrial area where Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy company runs a pipeline network and an oil tanker storage facility. The police said they suffered minor to moderate injuries.

“Our commitment to the security of the UAE is unwavering and we stand beside our Emirati partners against all threats to their territory,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Senior Emirati diplomat Anwar Gargash blamed the Houthis for the attack, saying on Twitter that Emirati authorities were handling the rebel group’s “vicious attack on some civilian facilities” in the UAE’s capital with “transparency and responsibility.”

“The tampering of the region’s security by terrorist militias is too weak to affect the stability and safety in which we live,” he tweeted.

Three transport tankers caught fire at the oil facility, while another fire was sparked at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Police said an investigation was underway and that preliminary findings indicate there were small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire. They said there was no significant damage from the incidents, without offering further details.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed they were behind an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates on Monday, but they did not offer details. Although the UAE has largely withdrawn its own forces from the war in Yemen, it is still actively engaged in the conflict and supports Yemeni militias fighting the Houthis.

The incident comes as the Houthis face pressure and are suffering heavy losses. Yemeni forces, allied and backed by the UAE, have pushed back the rebels in key southern and central provinces, dashing Houthi efforts to complete their control of the entire northern half of Yemen.

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

Saudi Arabia condemned Monday’s attack targeting Abu Dhabi, describing it as “a cowardly terrorist attack” that shows the dangers posed by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States, U.N. experts and others have accused Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis.

The UAE was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that has waged war against the Houthis since 2015, trying to restore the internationally backed government, ousted by the rebels the previous year.

While Emirati troops have been killed over the course of the conflict, now in its eight year, the war has not directly affected daily life in the wider UAE, a country with a vast foreign workforce that is also home to Dubai, a glitzy city of skyscrapers and five-star hotels.

The airport fire in Abu Dhabi was described by police as “minor” and took place at an extension of the international airport that is still under construction. For years, the airport home to Etihad Airways has been building its new Midfield Terminal, but it was not clear if that was where the fire took place.

Etihad Airways said “precautionary measures resulted in a short disruption for a small number of flights” and that airport operations have returned to normal. Abu Dhabi Airports did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The other blast struck three petroleum transport tankers near a complex for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in the Musaffah industrial area. The company describes it as a pipeline and terminal facility located some 22 kilometers (13 miles) from the center of the city of Abu Dhabi, where 36 storage tanks also supply transport trucks carrying fuel.

It is also a short distance from Al-Dhafra Air Base, a military installation that hosts U.S. and French forces. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Clark, the Al-Dhafra Air Base commander for American forces, said in a statement to The Associated Press that “no incidents” affected the base amid the attack.

“U.S. forces are ready and available to assist and support their Emirati partners if requested,” he said.

The location of the ADNOC facility where the tankers caught fire is approximately 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in Yemen.

The incident comes as South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in is visiting the UAE. During a meeting with Emirati Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Sunday, the two countries reportedly reached a preliminary deal valued at some $3.5 billion sell mid-range South Korean surface-to-air missiles to the UAE.

At an event attended by the South Korean president earlier in the day, Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei declined to comment on the explosion at ADNOC’s facility, telling the AP only that police would provide updates on their investigation.

The Houthis have used bomb-laden drones to launch crude and imprecise attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The group has also launched missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and pipelines, and used booby-trapped boats for attacks in key shipping routes.

Earlier this month, the Houthis seized an Emirati-flagged ship in the Red Sea , a crucial route for international trade and energy shipments.

Though there have been civilian deaths in Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, there had been no deaths previously reported in the UAE.

The overwhelming number of civilian deaths in the conflict have been in Yemen. The war has killed 130,000 people in Yemen — both civilians and fighters — and has exacerbated hunger and famine across the impoverished country.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, noted that while the Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on the UAE, Iraqi-based militias have also threatened the UAE in response to alleged Emirati interference in Iraqi politics.

He said the attack highlights the missile and drone threat faced by the UAE and the region’s other main oil producers. He said unless Gulf Arab states find a solution to diffuse wider regional tensions “they will remain vulnerable to attacks.”

Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre and Jon Gambrell in Dubai and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report. Military Times senior managing editor Howard Altman also contributed to this report.

阿联酋迪拜（美联社）——白宫“强烈谴责”胡塞武装对阿布扎比石油设施发动的致命袭击，并承诺“美国将与阿联酋和国际伙伴合作，追究他们的责任”。

也门胡塞武装声称对周一发生在阿布扎比的一起针对重要石油设施的无人机袭击负责，袭击造成三人死亡，并在阿布扎比国际机场引发火灾。

阿联酋警方确认死者为两名印度公民和一名巴基斯坦公民。阿布扎比国有能源公司运营的输油管道网络和油罐车储存设施所在的工业区内，另有多人受伤。警方称，伤者伤势轻微至中度。

“我们对阿联酋安全的承诺坚定不移，我们将与阿联酋伙伴站在一起，共同对抗一切对其领土的威胁，”国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文周一下午在一份声明中表示。

阿联酋高级外交官安瓦尔·加尔加什在推特上指责胡塞武装发动了此次袭击，称阿联酋当局正在以“透明和负责的态度”处理该反叛组织对阿联酋首都一些民用设施的“恶毒袭击”。

他在推特上写道：“恐怖民兵对该地区安全的破坏力度太小，不足以影响我们所生活的稳定和安全。”

石油设施内三辆运输油罐车起火，与此同时，阿布扎比国际机场扩建部分也发生火灾。

警方表示，调查正在进行中，初步调查结果显示，可能有小型飞行物（可能是无人机的物体）坠落在两处区域，并可能引发了爆炸和火灾。警方称，事件未造成重大损失，但未提供更多细节。

也门胡塞武装（由伊朗支持）声称对周一针对阿联酋的袭击事件负责，但并未提供更多细节。尽管阿联酋已基本从也门战争中撤出军队，但仍积极参与冲突，并支持与胡塞武装作战的也门民兵组织。

此次事件发生之际，胡塞武装正面临巨大压力，损失惨重。也门政府军在阿联酋的支持和支持下，已在南部和中部关键省份击退了胡塞武装，挫败了其完全控制也门北部地区的企图。

本月初，也门政府军从胡塞武装手中夺回了南部整个舍卜沃省，并在邻近的马里卜省取得了进展。他们得到了阿联酋支持的巨人旅的援助，并得到了沙特阿拉伯空袭的支援。

沙特阿拉伯谴责周一发生在阿布扎比的袭击事件，称其为“懦弱的恐怖袭击”，并指出此次袭击凸显了胡塞武装构成的危险。沙特阿拉伯以及美国、联合国专家和其他一些国家指责伊朗向胡塞武装提供武器。

自 2015 年以来，阿联酋一直是沙特领导的联军的重要成员，该联军一直在与胡塞武装作战，试图恢复前一年被叛军推翻的、得到国际社会支持的政府。

虽然在这场已经持续八年的冲突中，阿联酋军队已有人员伤亡，但这场战争并没有直接影响到阿联酋的日常生活。阿联酋拥有庞大的外籍劳动力，也是迪拜的所在地，迪拜是一座摩天大楼林立、五星级酒店林立的繁华都市。

阿布扎比机场的火灾被警方描述为“轻微火灾”，起火地点位于仍在建设中的国际机场扩建区域。多年来，阿提哈德航空的母公司阿布扎比机场一直在建设新的中场航站楼，但目前尚不清楚火灾是否发生在该航站楼内。

阿提哈德航空表示，“预防措施导致少数航班短暂中断”，目前机场运营已恢复正常。阿布扎比机场方面尚未对此置评。

另一起爆炸袭击了位于穆萨法工业区阿布扎比国家石油公司附近一处设施的三辆石油运输油罐车。该公司称，该设施是一个管道和终端站，距离阿布扎比市中心约22公里（13英里），那里有36个储油罐，也为运输燃料的卡车供油。

事发地点距离驻有美法两国军队的阿布扎比​​达夫拉空军基地也很近。驻扎在达夫拉空军基地的美军指挥官、美国空军准将安德鲁·克拉克在给美联社的一份声明中表示，袭击事件中基地“没有受到任何影响”。

他说：“如果阿联酋伙伴提出请求，美军随时准备提供援助和支持。”

油轮起火的 ADNOC 设施位于也门胡塞武装据点萨达东北约 1800 公里（1100 英里）处。

事件发生之际，韩国总统文在寅正在访问阿联酋。据报道，周日，文在寅与阿联酋总理兼迪拜酋长穆罕默德·本·拉希德·阿勒马克图姆会晤期间，两国达成了一项价值约35亿美元的初步协议，韩国将向阿联酋出售中程地对空导弹。

当天早些时候，在韩国总统出席的一场活动中，阿联酋能源部长苏海尔·马兹鲁伊拒绝就阿布扎比国家石油公司（ADNOC）设施发生的爆炸事件发表评论，仅告诉美联社，警方将提供有关调查的最新进展。

胡塞武装曾使用装载炸弹的无人机对沙特阿拉伯和阿联酋发动粗糙且不精确的袭击。该组织还向沙特机场、石油设施和输油管道发射导弹，并利用装有诡雷的船只袭击重要航道。

本月初，胡塞武装在红海扣押了一艘悬挂阿联酋国旗的船只，红海是国际贸易和能源运输的重要通道。

虽然沙特阿拉伯曾发生过胡塞武装袭击造成平民死亡的事件，但此前阿联酋尚未有平民死亡的报道。

冲突中绝大多数平民死亡事件发生在也门。这场战争已在也门造成13万人死亡——包括平民和战斗人员——并加剧了这个贫困国家的饥饿和饥荒。

风险情报公司 Verisk Maplecroft 的分析师 Torbjorn Soltvedt 指出，虽然胡塞武装声称对袭击阿联酋的事件负责，但伊拉克境内的民兵组织也对阿联酋发出威胁，以回应阿联酋涉嫌干涉伊拉克政治的行为。

他表示，此次袭击凸显了阿联酋和该地区其他主要产油国面临的导弹和无人机威胁。他还表示，除非海湾阿拉伯国家找到缓解地区紧张局势的办法，“否则它们仍将容易遭受袭击”。

美联社驻迪拜记者伊莎贝尔·德布雷和乔恩·甘布雷尔以及驻开罗记者萨米·马格迪对本报道亦有贡献。《军事时报》高级执行主编霍华德·奥特曼也对本报道有所贡献。