Missile again fired at U.S. Navy from Houthi territory in Yemen

[tycho1572]

A U.S. Navy destroyer was targeted on Wednesday in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the second such incident in four days, the U.S. military said.

The USS Mason fired defensive salvos in response to at least one missile which did not hit the ship or caused any damage as it operated north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Pentagon said. Indications are that the second salvo brought down an incoming missile, one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The renewed attempt to target the U.S. Navy destroyer will add pressure on the U.S. military to retaliate, a move that would represent the first direct U.S. military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict. The Pentagon said it would respond "at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner."

The United States, a longtime ally of Saudi Arabia, has provided aerial refueling of jets from a Saudi-led coalition striking Yemen and it supplies U.S. weapons sales to the kingdom.

Michael Knights, an expert on Yemen's conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the missile attacks appeared to be the Houthis' response to an attack last weekend, widely blamed on Saudi-led forces, on mourners gathered in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The White House says it is reviewing its support for Saudi-led forces in Yemen in the wake of Saturday's strike, which killed at least 140 people by one count.

Knights said the targeting of U.S. warship suggested the Houthis, fighters from a Shi'ite sect that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in northern Yemen until 1962, could be becoming more militarily aligned with groups like Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah.

"Targeting U.S. warships is a sign that the Houthis have decided to join the axis of resistance that currently includes Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran," Knight said.

The USS Mason was also the target of a failed missile attack off Yemen on Sunday, and the Navy praised the resolve of sailors aboard the ship.

"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," the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said.

"All Americans should be proud of them," he said.
Missile again fired at U.S. Navy from Houthi territory in Yemen

 

[tycho1572]

We can't get Obama out soon enough for me.

 

[Penelope]

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

 

[tycho1572]

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Maybe we should stop bowing to a country that hates us.

 

[tycho1572]

The BS Obama has created will take years to fix. They guy is easily the worst president we've ever had.

 

[B. Kidd]

Obie paid for those missiles........with pallets of cash, an' more.................

 

[irosie91]

A U.S. Navy destroyer was targeted on Wednesday in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the second such incident in four days, the U.S. military said.

The USS Mason fired defensive salvos in response to at least one missile which did not hit the ship or caused any damage as it operated north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Pentagon said. Indications are that the second salvo brought down an incoming missile, one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The renewed attempt to target the U.S. Navy destroyer will add pressure on the U.S. military to retaliate, a move that would represent the first direct U.S. military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict. The Pentagon said it would respond "at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner."

The United States, a longtime ally of Saudi Arabia, has provided aerial refueling of jets from a Saudi-led coalition striking Yemen and it supplies U.S. weapons sales to the kingdom.

Michael Knights, an expert on Yemen's conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the missile attacks appeared to be the Houthis' response to an attack last weekend, widely blamed on Saudi-led forces, on mourners gathered in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The White House says it is reviewing its support for Saudi-led forces in Yemen in the wake of Saturday's strike, which killed at least 140 people by one count.

Knights said the targeting of U.S. warship suggested the Houthis, fighters from a Shi'ite sect that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in northern Yemen until 1962, could be becoming more militarily aligned with groups like Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah.

"Targeting U.S. warships is a sign that the Houthis have decided to join the axis of resistance that currently includes Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran," Knight said.

The USS Mason was also the target of a failed missile attack off Yemen on Sunday, and the Navy praised the resolve of sailors aboard the ship.

"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," the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said.

"All Americans should be proud of them," he said.
Missile again fired at U.S. Navy from Houthi territory in Yemen

for those jerks who claim IRAN NEVER ATTACKED ANYONE IN 10,000 YEARS-----this ^^^^ was an Iranian
attack on the USA

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Go fuck yourself..
We go where we want.

 

[pwjohn]

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Good answer.

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Go fuck yourself..
We go where we want.

Yeah and fuck you to asshole.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Good answer.

Well maybe the US Navy ship shouldn't be there.

Go fuck yourself..
We go where we want.

Yeah and fuck you to asshole.

STFU Nancy...

 

[waltky]

Mixed signals from Yemen...

USS Mason Fired on a Third Time Near Yemen, CNO Says
Oct 16, 2016 | For the third time in seven days, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer in the Red Sea has been targeted by missiles fired from the coast of Yemen, the Navy's top officer told reporters today.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson offered few details as he answered reporters' questions Saturday at the Baltimore commissioning of the USS Zumwalt, the Navy's first-in-class stealth destroyer. "There's been recent activity today," he said. "The [USS Mason] appears to have come under attack in the Red Sea again by coastal defense cruise missiles fired from the coast of Yemen. So as you know, this is the third such attack."

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) conducts formation exercises with two Cyclone-class patrol craft, the USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Squall (PC 7)​

Richardson would not say how many missiles were fired, how close they came to the Mason, positioned in the strait of Bab el-Mandeb along with the destroyer Nitze, and how the Navy plans to respond to this most recent attack. On Wednesday night, the Navy announced it had fired ship-launched missiles from the Nitze and destroyed three radar sites in territory on the Yemeni coast controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Richardson later confirmed that five missiles had been launched, destroying sites believed to be used to target the ships. But the Pentagon has yet to publicly confirm who targeted the Navy ships, with Press Secretary Peter Cook telling reporters Thursday it remained unclear "who was pulling the trigger."

The Mason and another ship, the amphibious transport dock Ponce were apparently targeted twice previously, first with a two-missile assault last weekend, then with a second pair of missiles earlier Wednesday. Navy officials have said the ships will continue to conduct routine operations in the region. "[The Mason and Nitze] have everything they need to defend themselves from these attacks and respond when needed. So I'm very proud of the crews, they've done a terrific job," Richardson said Saturday. "It's another thing that just shows you, this is dangerous business," he added. "When we send our sailors overseas, we have got to send them with the absolute very best, because it's dangerous over there."

USS Mason Fired on a Third Time Near Yemen, CNO Says | Military.com

See also:

Kerry Says Yemen's Houthis have Released 2 American Citizens
Oct 16, 2016 | U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Yemen's Houthi rebels released two U.S. citizens on Saturday, without identifying the Americans.

Kerry said they were freed as part of a complicated diplomatic arrangement that included airlifts for Yemenis wounded by an airstrike this past week carried out by a Saudi-led coalition. Those individuals were taken to Oman for treatment. Kerry said the U.S. has been working on such efforts for the past few days, alongside a push for a cease-fire in Yemen that would allow the country's internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthis to return to negotiations. The state-run Oman News Agency said two Americans "held" in Yemen were released and flown to the sultanate following negotiations between Omani officials and "Yemeni authorities" in the capital, Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis and their allies. It also did not identify the Americans.

Yemen's war pits the government against the Shiite Houthi rebels and allied army units loyal to a former president. A Saudi-led coalition has been intervening on the side of the government since March 2015. After peace talks broke down two months ago, the Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition stepped up airstrikes and forced the closure of Sanaa's international airport. Negotiators representing the Houthis and their allies ended up stranded in Oman, but were allowed to return to Yemen under the latest deal. The bombing of the packed funeral hall last weekend, which killed 140 people and wounded 600, appears to have galvanized diplomatic efforts. An internal probe by the coalition said Saturday that the strike was carried out based on "wrong information" and had not been approved by the coalition's top command.

More than 100 people who were wounded in the funeral hall bombing have been allowed medical evacuation to seek treatment outside of Yemen, a Yemeni government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Speaking to reporters in Switzerland, where he was attending talks on Syria, Kerry said a plane flew the Houthi delegation back to Yemen from the Omani capital, Muscat, and returned with people wounded in the funeral hall strike. "This is something we've been working on for the last days," he said. He said the effort "also secured the release of two American citizens from the Houthis. Their names are not being released."

Kerry said the U.S .was "very pleased" with their release and was working to resolve other hostage situations in Yemen and elsewhere. Kerry said he had spoken with the U.N. envoy to Yemen as well as the Saudis, and that he was "continuing to work very hard to get a framework in Yemen that creates a dynamic that allows to get back to the table." "It remains a top priority for us to try to end the violence and get to the table as soon as possible," Kerry said.

MORE

Related:

U.S., Britain call for immediate ceasefire in Yemen
Sun Oct 16, 2016 | The United States and Britain called on Sunday for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Yemen to end violence between Iran-backed Houthis and the government, which is supported by Gulf states.

A Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has come under heavy criticism since an air strike on a funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that killed 140 people according to a United Nations' estimate and 82 according to the Houthis. On Saturday, a U.S. admiral said a destroyer had again been targeted in the Red Sea in an apparent failed missile attack launched from the coast of Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said if Yemen's opposing sides accepted the ceasefire then the special envoy to the U.N., Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, would work through the details and announce when and how it would take effect. "This is the time to implement a ceasefire unconditionally and then move to the negotiating table," Kerry told reporters. "We cannot emphasize enough today the urgency of ending the violence in Yemen," he said after meeting British foreign minister, Boris Johnson, and other officials in London.

Kerry said they were calling for the implementation of the ceasefire "as rapidly as possible, meaning Monday, Tuesday". The UN's special envoy said he had been in contact with the Houthi's lead negotiator and the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. He also said he hoped for "clearer plans" for a ceasefire in the coming days Johnson said the conflict in Yemen was "causing increasing international concern; the fatalities that we're seeing there are unacceptable". "There should be a ceasefire and the U.N. should lead the way in calling for that ceasefire." Their call came after meetings in London with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and senior UAE officials.

Kerry met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Saturday in Switzerland on the sidelines of Syria talks. "It is a crisis now of enormous proportions with an increasing economic, increasing humanitarian and health crisis, and obviously the military components are troubling to everybody," Kerry said. He added that the release of two American prisoners by Yemen's Houthi and the evacuation of Yemeni civilians wounded in a Saudi airstrike were "an important humanitarian gesture by the Saudis to address the humanitarian concern".

U.S., Britain call for immediate ceasefire in Yemen