Abu Dhabi reports tanker trucks explosions: Update

Adds Adnoc confirmation of incident in paragraphs 2-3

Three tanker trucks carrying oil products exploded in Abu Dhabi today, as Houthi-militants in Yemen claim an operation against the UAE.

State-owned Adnoc confirmed an incident took place at 10:00 local time, causing a fire that left three employees dead and six others injured.

"We are working closely with the relevant authorities to determine the exact cause and a detailed investigation has commenced," Adnoc said.

Abu Dhabi police said the fire led to the explosion of three oil products tanker trucks in the Musaffah ICAD-3 area, near oil tanks operated by Adnoc, according to state-owned Wam news agency. A minor fire also occurred in the new construction area of Abu Dhabi International Airport, according to Wam.

"Preliminary investigations indicate the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire. The competent authorities were sent and the fire is being dealt with," the Wam report said.

Adnoc operates a facility in Musaffah where it distributes oil products by trucks across the UAE. It contains 36 storage tanks with a total capacity of 1.3mn m³. A pipeline connects the facility to Abu Dhabi's refineries and supplies customers including Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH).

A spokesman for the northern Yemen-based Houthis said on Twitter that the militants would soon make a statement to announce a "qualitative military operation in the UAE".

The explosions come as Abu Dhabi hosts its flagship annual renewable energy event, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The Houthis hijacked a UAE-flagged cargo ship earlier this month as it sailed through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, between Yemen and Djibouti. The strait connects the Arabian Sea with the Red Sea and serves as a strategic waterway for Mideast Gulf oil and gas shipments to Europe.

In September, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a ballistic missile and several armed drones fired by the Houthis at the country's oil-rich eastern province.

The Iran-aligned Houthi group, which has been fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since 2015, said it had fired the missiles, targeting state-controlled Saudi Aramco facilities in Ras Tanura, close to Dammam, as well as in Jizan and Najran provinces.

Saudi Arabia and its allies, chiefly the UAE, intervened in Yemen in 2015 following the Houthi movement's 2014 ouster of the country's Saudi-backed president Mansour Abd Rabbo Hadi. The UAE has largely withdrawn from the conflict, pursuing its own agenda in southern Yemen through proxy forces.

By Adal Mirza