Yemen Houthis Say Attacked Abu Dhabi Airport in UAE

Yemen's Houthi movement said Thursday it had attacked Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates with a drone, though it was not immediately clear if there was any damage or casualties.

Abu Dhabi airport tweeted earlier in the day that there had been an incident involving a supply vehicle which had not affected operations, but it was unclear if it was referring to the same incident.

Later in the day UAE denied the reports and said operations were unaffected. "Operations at the airport are business as usual," a UAE official told Reuters.

The Houthis attacked two tankers in the Bab al-Mandeb strait a day earlier, prompting Saudi Arabia to suspend oil shipments through the strategic Red Sea lane.

The Houthis control much of northern Yemen and have said Abu Dhabi, a member of the Western-backed coalition fighting against them since 2015, was a target for their missiles.

The UAE has an advanced anti-missile interception system - the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) which is designed to destroy short- and intermediate-range missiles both inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere.

In December last year, the Houthis said they fired a cruise missile toward a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi.