Houthi missile hits Saudi, other misses US warship

Houthi fighters fired ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia and the United States said a failed missile attack from Houthi-controlled areas targeted one of its warships two days after an apparent Saudi-led airstrike killed 140 Yemenis.

The airstrike ripped through a wake attended by some of the country’s top political and security officials, outraging Yemeni society and potentially galvanising powerful tribes to join the Houthis in opposing a Saudi-backed exiled government.

Riyadh is leading a coalition of Arab states which began launching airstrikes in Yemen 18 months ago to restore to power ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was driven from the capital two years ago by the Houthis.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people and brought parts of Yemen to the brink of starvation. Both sides accuse the other of war crimes.

Riyadh has denied responsibility for Saturday’s airstrike, one of the bloodiest incidents of the war.

A US military spokesman said two missiles were fired from Houthi-held territory at the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer sailing north of the strategic Bab El-Mandab strait. Neither missile hit the ship.

The Houthis denied firing at the US ship.

The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis at a military base in Taif in central Saudi Arabia, striking deeper than ever before in the latest in a series of more than a dozen missile attacks.

A missile was also fired at Marib in central Yemen, a base for pro-government militiamen and troops who have struggled to advance on the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

Also read:

US Navy: Missile fired at US ship from Houthi-controlled territory.

Saudi coalition announces probe of Yemen airstrike.

US reviews support for Saudi-led coalition after Yemen attack.

UN, US outraged after deadly Yemen attack.