A US Navy destroyer was again targeted in the Red Sea in an apparent failed missile attack launched from the coast of Yemen, a US admiral said on Saturday.
US defence officials said late on Saturday an initial assessment given by Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, had yet to be finalised and the incident was still being reviewed to determine exactly what happened.
The missile attack, if confirmed, would mark the third time the USS Mason was fired upon in international waters in the past week from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
“The Mason once again appears to have come under attack in the Red Sea, again from coastal defence cruise missiles fired from the coast of Yemen,” Admiral John Richardson, US chief of naval operations, said during a ship christening in Baltimore.
Another US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, later told Reuters: “We are aware of the reports and we are assessing the situation. All of our ships and crews are safe and unharmed.”
The latest incident comes just two days after the US military launched cruise missiles against three coastal radar sites in areas held by Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to the two previous failed missile firings against the Mason.
Initial reports on the latest incident, according to another US defence official, said the crew detected multiple missiles fired toward the Mason, which responded with onboard countermeasures to defend itself. No damage was reported to the vessel or other ships accompanying it.
Thursday’s US counter-strikes, authorised by President Barack Obama, marked Washington’s first direct military action against suspected Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen’s conflict and raised questions about the potential for further escalation.