USS Mason's Yemen Missile Attackers Taste Own Medicine

Missiles fired near the USS Mason in Yemen led the U.S. to carry out missile strikes in retaliation Thursday following the threat to the U.S. Navy destroyer.

The failed attacks came at the hands of Houthi militants, and they got a taste of their own medicine after President Obama gave the U.S. military permission to retaliate, ABC News noted.

“Early this morning local time, the U.S. military struck three radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a news release.

Cook said the radar sites were “involved in the recent missile launches threatening USS Mason and other vessels operating in international waters in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb.”

The strikes represent Washington’s first direct military action against this rebel-held territory in Yemen, according to Reuters.

“These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation,” Cook said.

Prior to these self-defense strikes, it was reported that the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group was responsible for two missile attacks on the USS Mason in the past four days, The Guardian noted.

“These radars were active during previous attacks and attempted attacks on ships in the Red Sea,” which included the U.S. Navy destroyer, an official said, according to The Guardian.

Officials also said that when the U.S. military let off its missiles early Thursday morning, the targeted sites were in remote areas where there was a low risk of civilian casualties, The Guardian noted.

A Houthi military official denied their military’s involvement in the attacks on the USS Mason, calling the claims “baseless,” and saying that the false allegations are just a way to “escalate aggression and cover up crimes committed against the Yemeni people,” Reuters reported.

Despite their denied involvement, the Pentagon said the U.S. is prepared to respond to any future attacks.

“The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate,” Cook said in the news release.

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