Nigerian among 122 injured in Iran stike on UAE

At least one Nigerian has been identified among dozens of people injured during the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles in the United Arab Emirates amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The UAE Ministry of Defence said the attacks were part of retaliatory strikes launched by Iran following accusations that the Gulf nation allowed the United States to use its military bases to carry out operations against Tehran.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said its air defence systems had detected 262 ballistic missiles launched from Iran since the conflict began on February 28.

According to the ministry, 241 of the missiles were intercepted and destroyed, 19 fell into the sea, while two struck within UAE territory.

The authorities also disclosed that 1,475 Iranian drones were detected, with 1,385 intercepted, while 90 landed within the country’s territory. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed.

The attacks resulted in six deaths among Emirati, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationals, while 122 people sustained moderate to minor injuries, the ministry said.

Among those injured were people of several nationalities, including citizens of the UAE, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, the Comoros, Türkiye, Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Jordan and Palestine.

However, the UAE authorities did not specify how many individuals from each nationality were affected.

Meanwhile, the defence ministry said on Wednesday that its air defence systems were again responding to fresh missile and drone threats from Iran.

“UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” the ministry said in a statement.