New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- The United Arab Emirates issued a brief alert on Tuesday warning residents of "potential missile threats," as the Defence Ministry said it had detected missiles "directed towards the country."

The Interior Ministry urged people to immediately move to a safe location in the nearest secure building because of the prevailing security situation. The alert was lifted shortly afterward.

The Defence Ministry separately confirmed that it had "detected a missile threat directed towards the country," but did not immediately provide details on the origin of the threat, its intended target or whether any missiles had struck UAE territory.

Tuesday's warning was the first such alert in months. The UAE issued a false alarm in Ju...