A possible drone attack may have sparked an explosion that struck three oil tankers in Abu Dhabi and another fire at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport that killed three people and wounded six, police said.

Abu Dhabi police identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani.

It did not identify the wounded, who police said suffered minor or moderate wounds.

Police said an investigation is under way.

While Abu Dhabi police did not immediately offer any suspects for the possible assault, Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates, without elaborating.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have claimed several attacks that Emirati officials later denied took place.

The incident comes as Yemen's years-long war rages on and as an Emirati-flagged vessel found itself recently captured by the Houthis.

That is as Abu Dhabi largely has withdrawn its national forces from the conflict tearing apart the Arab world's poorest nation while still supporting local militias there.

Abu Dhabi police said preliminary investigations indicated the detection of 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