http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/31/exclusive-pentagon-
believes-attack-on-saudi-frigate-meant-for-us-warship.html#
Above, the logo of Ansar Allah commonly known as Houthis. Image taken from
their official Twitter
account, which includes the Quranic verse, ”O ye who believe! Be ye helpers of
Allah (ansar allah).” The flag says, “God is Great, Death to America, Death to
Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam.”
Below are 2 reports about the Houthi attack.
1. The
Iranian-backed (Houthi) suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen
on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense officials said. Friends, I would bet $5.00 the Houthis saw the Saudi Arabian flag on the ship. At first glance this seems like more "fake" news tp manipulate or distract the American public.
The
incident in question occurred in the southern Red Sea and was carried out by
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three were
wounded. At first the ship was thought to have been struck by a missile.
But based
on new analysis of a video showing the attack, American intelligence officials
now believe this was, in fact, a suicide bomber whose small boat rammed the
side of the Saudi vessel.
In the
audio heard on the video, a voice narrating the attack shouts in Arabic,
"Allahu akbar [God is great], death to America, death to Israel, a curse
on the Jews and victory for Islam."
U.S.
defense analysts believe those behind the attack either thought the bomber was
striking an American warship or that this was a “dress rehearsal” similar to
the attack on the USS Cole, according to one official.
The
attack, near the Bab al Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of
Aden, occurred in the same area where U.S. Navy warships came under missile
attack in October.
An
American destroyer shot down those incoming missiles -- the first successful engagement
in combat using an American SM-2 missile.
USS
Nitze, an American destroyer, retaliated soon after, launching Tomahawk
missiles on October 13 at multiple Houthi radar sites in Yemen.
This
latest incident came a day after President Trump spoke by phone with the Saudi
King to discuss setting up safe zones for refugees in Syria and Yemen. Senior
U.S. defense officials who spoke with Fox News say they're concerned by this
latest incident, but are confident American warships can defend themselves.
The United
States has supported a Saudi-led air campaign against the Houthi rebels in
Yemen since 2015.
2. The Houthi movement, flag above, attacked a Saudi warship off the western coast of Yemen on Monday, causing an
explosion that killed two crew members and injured three others.
The Houthis also said they launched a ballistic missile at a Saudi-led coalition military base
on the Red Sea island of Zuqar between Yemen and Eritrea on Tuesday morning.
There was no immediate
coalition reaction to that claim and it was unclear if there were any
casualties. The attacks signal an
escalation to weeks of combat on Yemen’s western coast between the Iran-allied
Houthis and the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
“A Saudi frigate on patrol
west of Hodeidah port came under attack from three suicide boats belonging to
the Houthi militias,” the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. One of the boats collided
with the rear of the vessel, causing an explosion and a fire that killed two
crew members and wounded three others.
The Houthi movement’s
al-Masira channel contradicted this account and quoted a military source saying
the explosion was caused by a guided missile.
It was at least the second
attack by the Houthis on ships off the coast of Yemen in the last six months.
The group is engaged in
battles on the mainland with coalition troops and pro-government fighters, who
are trying to advance northward to deprive the Houthis of Red Sea ports.
The Saudi-led coalition
warned the attack on the ship “would impact international navigation and the
flow of humanitarian assistance to the port for Yemeni citizens.”
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf
Arab allies have carried out thousands of bombing raids in Yemen since March
2015 in a campaign to try to restore the ousted administration government of
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
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