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Yemen conflict: US strikes radar sites after missile attack on ship | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The US military has attacked radar sites in Yemen after a US warship in the Red Sea came under missile attack for the second time within days. | |
The Pentagon said initial assessments showed that three radar sites involved in the recent missile launches had been destroyed. | |
It said the targeted sites were on territory controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. | |
The Pentagon said the strikes had been authorised by President Barack Obama. | |
The attack was carried out using Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from the destroyer USS Nitze, according to US officials. | |
"These limited self-defence strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. | |
"The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate." | |
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They came hours after at least one missile was fired at the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, in the Red Sea off Yemen. | |
The Pentagon said the ship took defensive action and suffered no damage. | |
On Sunday, two missiles were fired at the USS Mason from the same rebel-held territory. | On Sunday, two missiles were fired at the USS Mason from the same rebel-held territory. |
Both missiles hit the water before reaching the ship, the Pentagon said. | |
At the time, a Houthi spokesman told the Saba news agency that it had not targeted any warships. | At the time, a Houthi spokesman told the Saba news agency that it had not targeted any warships. |
A Saudi-led multinational coalition, supported by the US, is carrying out an air campaign against the Houthi movement. | A Saudi-led multinational coalition, supported by the US, is carrying out an air campaign against the Houthi movement. |
However, US support for the coalition has come under strain following an air strike on a funeral hall in the capital Sanaa earlier this month that killed at least 140 people. | |
Washington said it would review its support to "better align with US principles, values and interests". | |
The Saudi government has not publicly acknowledged that its planes carried out the strike, but it has launched an inquiry. | |
It has also said it will facilitate the evacuation of Yemenis injured in the attack who need medical treatment abroad. | |
The UN says at least 4,125 civilians have been killed and 7,207 injured since the coalition intervened in the conflict between forces loyal to Yemen's internationally-recognised government and those allied to the Houthis in March 2015. | The UN says at least 4,125 civilians have been killed and 7,207 injured since the coalition intervened in the conflict between forces loyal to Yemen's internationally-recognised government and those allied to the Houthis in March 2015. |