For a second time in less than a week, U.S. Navy ships sailing in international waters off the coast of Yemen were fired on from an area of the country controlled by Houthi rebels.
Pentagon officials say a shore-launched coastal-defense cruise missile was fired at the destroyer USS Mason, one of two U.S. ships that was targeted by two missiles Sunday. A U.S. official said the ship detected the missile around 6 p.m. local time, which was 11 a.m. Wednesday in Washington. The missile was fired from the Houthi-controlled area of Al Hudaydah.
Just as in the previous incident, the Mason fired countermeasures, and the incoming missile fell harmlessly into the sea. “It is unclear if the countermeasures caused the missile to hit the water, or if it would have hit the water on its own,” the U.S. official said.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson called the attacks “unjustified” and “serious.”
“The US Navy remains on watch in the Red Sea and around the world to defend America from attack and to protect U.S. strategic interests,” Richardson wrote Wednesday night on his Facebook page. “These unjustified attacks are serious, but they will not deter us from our mission. We are trained and ready to defend ourselves and to respond quickly and decisively.
“The team in USS Mason demonstrated initiative and toughness as they defended themselves and others against these unfounded attacks over the weekend and again today. All Americans should be proud of them. We will remain vigilant and ready to respond.”
The United States has said that once it confirms who fired the anti-ship missile, it will take retaliatory action.
“U.S. forces everywhere in the world have the right and tremendous capability to defend themselves, and no one ought to underestimate that,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters before leaving for Trinidad and Tobago. “We also have the capability to take action against anybody who has taken aggressive action against our forces.”
The Wednesday attack on Mason happened 16 years to the day since terrorists rammed the destroyer USS Cole with an explosive-laden boat in the Port of Aden, Yemen, while the ship was refueling. Seventeen sailors were killed.
