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Ex-footballer says ‘missile hit Dubai resort’ as individuals ‘working everywhere’

A former footballer who played in several divisions of the English Football League has spoken of the “bedlam” he went through after he claims his Dubai hotel was hit by a missile.

Lee Brown, who played for the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Wimbledon and Portsmouth, is currently stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to ongoing retaliation from Iran in the US-Israel war.

Attacks across the Middle East, although most have been intercepted by air defence, have caused damage to hotels and airports. Dubai has seen minor damage and a fire, believed to be from intercepted drones, at the Burj Al Arab and Fairmont hotels at the weekend.



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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stephen Flynn/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock (14069141ch)
AFC Wimbledon defender Lee Brown (3) during the EFL Sky Bet League 2 match between AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers at Plough Lane, London
AFC Wimbledon v Forest Green Rovers, EFL Sky Bet League 2 - 26 Aug 2023
Lee Brown playing for AFC Wimbledon

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Brown, who is now retired from football, confirmed he was caught up in the chaos but did not reveal the hotel that was hit or the date it happened. There has also been no confirmed missile attack by Dubai Officials, only damage from debris following successful interceptions.

Speaking to the BBC, Brown said: “A missile hit a hotel we are staying in.

“Luckily we were out at the time, but as you can imagine when we got back around 4.30pm it was bedlam. The hotel was on fire and everyone was running all over the place.



Burj Al Arab
Scenes of a minor fire at the Burj Al Arab

“It seems to have calmed down a little bit on the ground now, though. There’s still the occasional bang up in the sky where they’re trying to cut out the missiles attacking the UAE.”

Brown’s comments come as some commercial flights are operating from Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE but the vast majority are cancelled because of airspace restrictions caused by the conflict between Iran and the US and its allies.

There is not expected to be a widespread evacuation of the 138,000 British nationals who have registered their presence in the Middle East.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 23 out of 33 planned flights from the UAE to the UK on Wednesday were cancelled.

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