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Pentagon Threatens Retaliation for Failed Missile Attack on US Ships in Red
Sea

by VOA News

   The Pentagon said it is evaluating a military response to failed
   missile attacks on U.S. naval ships in the Red Sea, warning Tuesday
   that nearby Yemen-based Houthi rebels thought responsible launched the
   missiles "at their own peril."

   Officials say the two missiles, launched over a one-hour period, missed
   their targets - the USS Mason and the USS Ponce-- and landed harmlessly
   in the water Sunday. Authorities said the guided missile destroyer
   Mason used electronic countermeasures to foil the first attack, while
   the second missile targeting the amphibious assault ship Ponce failed
   on its own.

   Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis confirmed to reporters Tuesday that
   the missiles came from Yemen territory controlled by Houthi fighters,
   who are seeking to topple the internationally recognized government of
   President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

   Davis stopped short of directly linking the attacks to Iran-backed
   Houthis, but noted that the Silkworm anti-ship missiles believed used
   in the attacks are an active part of Iran's missile arsenal. He said
   that the U.S. will find out who fired the missiles and will "take
   action accordingly."

   "It's no secret that Iran has been actively supplying [rebels] and
   giving them tools of war," Davis said.

   The U.S. military has been providing intelligence and logistics to
   Saudi-led coalition warplanes who began targeting Houthi positions
   inside Yemen earlier this year.

   Some material for this report came from AP and AFP.