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Report: U.S. Destroyer Fired Missiles to Defend Against Attack Off Yemeni Coast

USS Ponce
A U.S. Navy sailor assists during training exercises with small boats coming and going from the USS Ponce in April / AP
October 12, 2016

The U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Mason fired missiles to defend against a failed missile attack off the coast of Yemen on Sunday, according to a report.

USNI News, citing unnamed defense officials, reported Wednesday that the USS Mason crew fired three missiles to defend the warship and the USS Ponce, which were both positioned in the Red Sea, against the two missiles launched from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis.

The officials also said that the missiles are believed to be cruise missiles.

USNI further reported:

Mason launched two Standard Missile-2s (SM-2s) and a single Enhanced Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to intercept the two missiles that were launched about 7 P.M. local time. In addition to the missiles, the ship used its Nulka anti-ship missile decoy, the sources confirmed. ... According to a defense official on Monday, Mason "employed onboard defensive measures" against the first suspected cruise missile, "although it is unclear whether this led to the missile striking the water or whether it would have struck the water anyway." The official did not specify that the defensive measure was a missile fired from the ship.

The Pentagon revealed earlier this week that the pair of missiles targeted the American warships off the coast of Yemen but missed and landed in the water. The USS Mason was operating in international waters near the straight of Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea, and the USS Ponce and the USS Nitze were also nearby.

The Pentagon, which is investigating the incident, has promised to retaliate against whoever is responsible for the failed attack.

"We are going to find out who did it and take action accordingly," Defense Department spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters on Tuesday. "Anybody who puts U.S. Navy ships at risk does so at their own peril."

The Houthi military has denied carrying out the attack.

Published under: Military , Navy , Yemen