Unidentified strike on UAE-based AWS facility sparks fire, power shutdown, and financial sector disruption across the Gulf
DOHA: A major cloud outage swept across parts of the Middle East late Sunday after an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center in the United Arab Emirates was struck by unidentified objects, sparking a fire and widespread power failure.
AWS said the impact damaged critical infrastructure, forcing authorities to shut down electricity to multiple data center clusters. Restoration efforts are underway, but the company warned that full recovery could take “many hours.”
The disruption has affected services in the UAE and neighboring Bahrain, with financial institutions among the hardest hit. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank confirmed temporary outages across its mobile app and digital banking platforms, citing a broader IT failure linked to the regional cloud disruption.
AWS advised customers to back up critical data and shift workloads to unaffected regions to limit operational losses.
The incident unfolded amid escalating regional tensions, following reports of Iranian drone and missile launches toward Gulf states after recent U.S. and Israeli strikes. Officials have not confirmed whether the AWS facility was directly targeted.
Analysts warn the episode underscores growing risks to digital infrastructure in conflict zones, as data centers become strategic assets alongside energy and transport networks.
The UAE, a rising hub for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, hosts major investments from global tech firms. Experts say the outage may prompt companies to reassess geopolitical risk exposure as services gradually come back online.
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