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Pentagon: U.S. warship off coast of Yemen targeted by missiles

The Houthi rebel group in Yemen is thought to have launched the missiles, both of which missed the ship.

By Stephen Feller
On Sunday, two missiles were fired Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason, pictured as it departed Naval Station Norfolk in 2011, but both missed. A Pentagon spokesperson said the missiles are thought to have been launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. File photo by UPI/Rafael Martie/US Navy
On Sunday, two missiles were fired Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason, pictured as it departed Naval Station Norfolk in 2011, but both missed. A Pentagon spokesperson said the missiles are thought to have been launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. File photo by UPI/Rafael Martie/US Navy | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Two missiles were fired at a U.S. Naval warship off the coast of Yemen Sunday, both of which missed, according to the Pentagon.

Militants in Yemen aimed two missiles at the USS Mason, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, while it was in international waters, with both missing the ship and hitting the water, according to a spokesperson at the Pentagon.

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Both missiles were fired within about an hour of each other, around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, while the ship was conducting routine operations in the southern end of the Red Sea, north of the Bab el Mandeb Strait.

"We assess the missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen," said Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Pentagon. "The United States remains committed to ensuring freedom of navigation everywhere in the world, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our ships and our service members."

The missiles fired on the Mason come a week after a missile attack on a United Arab Emirates transport vessel that was badly damaged while it was in international waters. That attack was thought to have come from Houthi militants who aimed shoulder-fired missiles at the ship from speedboats.

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The missile launches against a U.S. Naval ship also come a day after Saudi Arabia led an airstrike that killed more than 140 and injured 525 at a funeral several Houthi leaders were thought to have been at, which the United States has been accused of having a role in.

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