'This is obviously a huge deal': US Navy destroyers just had to fend off missiles fired from Yemen
The USS Mason, which was accompanied by the USS Ponce - an amphibious transport dock - fired defensive salvos in response to the missiles, neither of which hit the ship or caused any damage as it operated north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The renewed attempt to target the US Navy destroyer will add pressure on the US military to retaliate, a move that would represent the first direct US military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict. The Pentagon hinted about possible retaliatory strikes on Tuesday.
The incidents, along with an Oct. 1 strike on a vessel from the United Arab Emirates, add to questions about safety of passage for military ships around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
On Sunday, the USS Mason fired two SM-2 interceptor missiles- an Enhanced Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) used for closer threats and a Nulka anti-ship missile decoy - to counter missiles coming from Yemen.
Bryan Clark, a naval analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said Sunday's event was 'very significant.'
"It might be the first time the SM-2 was used against an actual threat for which it was designed," Clark said. "It's definitely the first time ESSM has been used… This is obviously a huge deal."
Now it appears the US Navy has had to repeat this extraordinary feat just days later.
But US officials have told Reuters there is growing indications that Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, were responsible for Sunday's incident.
The rebels appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct the missile attack on the warship. A video claimed by the Houthis showed them using a similar tactic when they struck a United Arab Emirates vessel on October 1.
The Houthis, who are allied to Hadi's predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, have the support of many army units and control most of the north including the capital Sanaa.
Reuters has learned that the coastal defense cruise missiles used against the USS Mason on Sunday had considerable range, adding to concerns about the kind of heavy weaponry that the Houthis appear willing to employ and some of which US officials believe is supplied by Iran.
The SM-2 missiles used by the USS Mason cost just under $1 million dollars each. It's not clear whether the missiles intercepted the incoming threat, or if the missiles fire from Yemen simply failed to reach the US ships.
