- Debris from aerial interception falls on vehicle.
- Official says incident occurred near Sheikh Zayed Road.
- Authorities probe if deceased received emergency alert.
DUBAI: A Pakistani driver was killed in Dubai’s Al Barsha area on Saturday evening after debris from an aerial interception struck his vehicle shortly after Iftar, authorities confirmed.
The incident occurred near Sheikh Zayed Road behind the Mall of the Emirates. Officials said the impact sparked a brief fire, but no other injuries were reported.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine whether the driver received an emergency alert on his mobile phone and if safety instructions were followed.
The Al Barsha area is located along Sheikh Zayed Road, one of Dubai’s busiest highways. The fatality raises the toll from the recent attacks to four people, including two Pakistani nationals.
Previously, a Pakistani national, Murid Zaman, hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was killed in Abu Dhabi’s Madinat Zayed area.
Zaman, as per diplomatic officials, was killed in an Iranian missile strike after being struck by missile fragments.
The Middle East region has been pushed into turmoil after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, martyring its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military leadership.
Tehran, since then, has responded to the US-Israeli war on Iran by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations.
Israel has also launched fresh attacks in Lebanon after Hezbollah fired across the border.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
US forces were likely responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children, US officials have told Reuters.
But Trump, without citing evidence, told reporters on Saturday that Iran was responsible.
Meanwhile, Iranian attacks have killed 10 people in Israel. At least six US service members have been killed.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Trump said the air campaign could make negotiations a moot point if all potential leaders of Iran are killed and the Iranian military is destroyed.
“At some point, I don’t think there will be anybody left maybe to say ‘We surrender,'” Trump said.
In Iran, local news agencies, citing an Iranian Oil Ministry source, said its fuel depots were hit by strikes in three areas, including Karaj, west of Tehran.
Iran’s president apologised to neighbouring states for its attacks on US facilities in those countries, in an attempt to cool anger across the Gulf, but stirred criticism from hardliners at home.
Pezeshkian’s comments caused a political stir in Iran, prompting his office to reiterate Iran’s military would respond firmly to attacks from US bases.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said on state television there was no rift among Iranian officials over its handling of the war.
Saudi Arabia has told Tehran that continued Iranian attacks on the kingdom and its energy sector could push Riyadh to respond in kind, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
— With additional input from Reuters.
