News / Persian Gulf / Yemen

Blast in Abu Dhabi raises jitters; US warns of possible strike

Wednesday, 09 February 2022 6:50 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 09 February 2022 11:26 AM ]

This photo, taken from the footage circulating on social media, shows the moment of the explosion in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, at dawn on February 9, 2022.

An explosion in downtown Abu Dhabi has prompted a warning of a possible attack following a series of retaliatory drone and missile assaults by Yemen.

The US embassy issued a security alert after the blast on Hamdan Street just after midnight sent a fireball into the sky and set off a blaze. It warned that "there are reports of a possible missile or drone strike having occurred" over the city.

Footage circulated on social media captured a loud bang and a flash of flames on the upper floors of the mid-rise residential building.

UAE authorities attributed them to a gas cylinder explosion in a building, saying emergency teams had put off a fire.

However, as the news broke, there were reports of heavy bombing of the Yemeni capital by Saudi-led coalition warplanes.

Social media activists also said the attack was caused by a Yemeni missile strike.

In the past, Yemen's retaliatory attacks on the UAE have been followed by heavy bombings of Yemeni cities, especially Sana'a, by the Saudi-led coalition.

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The UAE has been on alert since January 17, when Yemeni armed forces conducted a drone and missile attack against the Persian Gulf country over its involvement in the war on Yemen.

Since then, Yemen has conducted several retaliatory attacks against the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which leads the military coalition against Yemen.

According to local sources, warplanes conducted four airstrikes on the al-Hafa area in the Yemeni capital early Wednesday. They also targeted the telecommunication network in Jabal Bayh in the Manakha district.

Riyadh and its regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates, launched the devastating war against its impoverished southern neighbor in 2015.

The conflict, coupled with the crippling blockade, has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis in the country, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

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