Kuwait City: The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by multiple drone attacks on Friday morning, Kuwait’s state oil firm KPC said.
The attack caused a fire in some units, with no initial casualties reported, the country’s state news agency said. Firefighters responded immediately, with several units shut down as a precaution to ensure workers’ safety.
Since early on Friday, Emirati and Kuwaiti air defences were responded to missile fire, authorities said. Saudi Arabia intercepted drone attacks.
As Iran continues to pound Gulf nations as the war enters its 20th day, Bahrain’s interior ministry said that shrapnel from an “Iranian aggression” caused a fire at a warehouse, which was brought under control and resulted in no injuries. The ministry earlier said air raid sirens were activated, as reported by AFP.
In Sharjah, long queues were spotted outside mosques as people gathered to offer Eid prayers. Authorities in the UAE have banned namaz in the open to protect citizens from drone strikes or falling debris.
Israel, meanwhile, pounded Tehran with airstrikes even as the Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, on Friday.
People reported hearing strikes around Iran’s capital. The attacks came a day after Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field and Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.
Meanwhile, authorities in the UAE have arrested at least five members of a “terrorist network” linked to Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, state media said.
The alleged network had “sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country’s financial stability” as part of “a pre-established strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran”, the official WAM news agency said, citing the UAE State Security Apparatus.
