US official claims warship targeted by multiple Yemeni missiles

In this image obtained from the US Navy, the guided missile destroyer USS Nitze launches a strike against three coastal radar sites in Yemen's Red Sea coast on October 13, 2016. (photo by AFP)

A US official has claimed that Yemeni forces affiliated with the nation’s leading Ansarullah movement have again targeted an American warship in the Red Sea with multiple missiles.

The ship that allegedly came under attack from Yemeni shores was identified as guided missile destroyer USS Mason, which “launched counter-measures and was not hit,” AP reported Saturday, citing the official, who it said spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

Yemeni Army and the ruling Ansarullah administration have not yet reacted to the latest claim by Washington, which supports the massive Saudi-led airstrikes against mostly civilian targets throughout Yemen.

The alleged attack came just days after a US warship fired Tomahawk missiles into Yemen to destroy three radar sites that American military officials claimed played a role in the earlier alleged attacks against its military vessels in the region.

A destroyed vehicle bearing a radar antenna is pictured in the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah on October 13, 2016. (photo by AFP)

Yemeni officials, however, have rejected the allegations as "unfounded" and intended as a pretext to provide intelligence and logistical support to Saudi Arabia in its brutal military campaign in Yemen.

The latest alleged attack was the third time in nearly a week that the USS Mason and other US warships have been targeted by missiles fired from the coastal Yemen region.

The report further cited the official as saying that “additional radars could have been used in this latest attack.”

The development came two days after the leader of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, Abdul Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, warned of US plans to launch a military aggression against the impoverished Arab nation neighboring Saudi Arabia.

A female Yemeni fighter from the Ansarullah Movement stands guard during a rally marking the anniversary of the south's revolt against British colonial rule on October 13, 2016, in the southern city of Aden. (photo by AFP)

In a televised speech on Thursday, al-Houthi slammed Washington’s recent missile attacks against three mobile radar sites on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, further insisting that the nation and armed forces must remain vigilant and fully prepared to face the invaders.

“The US is after laying the groundwork for making an invasive move against [western coastal] Hudaydah Province,” he said adding, “Through this measure, the US is after building up pressure on and harassing the people of Yemen.”

The US military targeted Yemen's radar sites on Wednesday after claiming that the USS Mason had come under Yemeni attack for the second time in four days.

Washington, along with Britain and France, has been a major supplier of lethal weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has launched at war against its southern neighbor since March 2015.