U.S. sees mounting evidence of Houthi
role in strike on U.S. warship
Send a link to a friend
[October 12, 2016]
By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is
seeing growing indications that Iran-allied Houthi rebels, despite
denials, were responsible for Sunday's attack on a Navy destroyer off
the Yemen coast, U.S. officials told Reuters.
The rebels appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct a
missile attack on the warship, said U.S. officials, who are not
authorized to speak publicly because the investigation is ongoing.
The United States is also investigating the possibility that a radar
station under Houthi control in Yemen might have also "painted" the USS
Mason, something that would have helped the Iran-aligned fighters pass
along coordinates for a strike, said the officials.
Neither of the two missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory on
Sunday hit the USS Mason or the nearby USS Ponce, an amphibious
transport dock. But the incident threatens to trigger the first direct
U.S. military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict, even if it is
limited to one-off retaliation.
The Houthis have publicly denied any role in the strike. A senior
Western diplomat told Reuters those denials have been communicated
privately as well.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/12/images/ads/current/best_friends_sda_120215.png)
But the emerging details of Sunday's incident, if confirmed by a U.S.
investigation, would lend further support to the Pentagon's claims that
"the facts certainly seem to point" to Houthi involvement. The U.S.
military even hinted on Tuesday at possible preparations for a
retaliatory strike.
"Anybody who takes action, fires against U.S. Navy ships operating in
international waters, does so at their own peril," Pentagon spokesman
Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing.
The Houthis, who drove the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemen President Abd Rabbu
Mansour al-Hadi from the capital in 2014, had previously avoided
targeting U.S. military ships.
Although the United States has provided limited support for the
Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis, it also has reserved its
direct military role in Yemen to the fight against al Qaeda's affiliate,
al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
That general U.S. policy might still remain in place, even if it opts to
carry out one-off retaliatory strikes.
Yemen's war has killed at least 10,000 people and brought parts of the
country to the brink of starvation.
HOUTHI CAPABILITIES
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.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/101216pics/news_n23.jpg)
The USS Mason (DDG 87), a guided missile destroyer, arrives at Port
Canaveral, Florida, April 4, 2003. REUTERS/Karl Ronstrom/File photo
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
The U.S. military has acknowledged that only the first of the two
missiles came close enough to even trigger the USS Mason's defenses,
and it is still not clear those were necessary to avoid a direct hit
on the ship.
It is also not clear whether those defenses caused the missile to
splash down early, or whether it would have fallen short anyway.
The second missile, fired about an hour later, was far enough away
that the USS Mason did not deem it necessary to employ its defenses.
But Reuters has learned that the coastal defense cruise missiles
themselves had considerable range, adding to concerns about the kind
of heavy weaponry that the Houthis appear willing to employ and some
of which U.S. officials believe is supplied by Iran.
The second missile, for example, traveled more than two dozen
nautical miles before splashing into the Red Sea off Yemen's
southern coast, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The Houthis had previously acknowledged responsibility for firing on
a vessel from the United Arab Emirates a week earlier. Both
incidents took place around the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the
world's busiest shipping routes.
Gerry Northwood, chief operations officer with British maritime
security firm MAST, suggested the Houthis would find it increasingly
difficult to stage similar strikes going forward.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/12/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
"Now that the U.S. is getting involved, it will become increasingly
difficult for the Houthis to position their missiles for further
attacks," Northwood said.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul
and Idrees Ali; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |