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US Navy Ship Fired On In Red Sea AGAIN

REUTERS/Karl Ronstrom.

Percy Metcalfe Contributor
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Yemeni rebels fired on the USS Mason in The Red Sea Wednesday at 6am ET.

The strike originated from south of the town of Al Hudayah, not far from Yemen’s capital of Sana’a. The area is controlled by the Iranian backed Houthi insurgent group.

Defense officials report that the vessel was fired on by a Cruise Missile, which failed hit its intended target. The US destroyer class ship fired countermeasure projectiles to prevent it from being damaged. No sailors aboard the USS Mason were harmed.

The same ship, and also the amphibious USS Ponce, were victims of a similar attack on Sunday, making this the second event of this type in four days. The Houthi rebel group denied involvement in this attack, though did claim responsibility for the destruction of a former US Navy vessel, the HSV-2 Swift, in the same area on October 1. At that time the Swift was under lease by the United Arab Emirates.

The USS Mason forms part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group stationed around the entrance to the Red Sea with the aim of preventing arms deliveries to the Houthi Rebels and to prevent actions of piracy.

The US has come under a barrage of criticism for being mired in the conflict in Yemen, which is essentially a proxy war between US ally Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudi airstrikes against the Houthi rebels have been responsible for a number of civilian deaths.