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US Navy investigates possible missile fire from Yemen

FILE -- In this Saturday, March 12, 2011 file photo, U.S. destroyer USS Mason sails in the Suez canal in Ismailia, Egypt. The U.S. Navy says it is investigating the overnight possible missile attack from Yemen on a group of American warships in the Red Sea. Adm. John Richardson, the Navy's top officer, said Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, that the destroyer USS Mason appeared "to have come under attack." (AP Photo/File)
FILE -- In this Saturday, March 12, 2011 file photo, U.S. destroyer USS Mason sails in the Suez canal in Ismailia, Egypt. The U.S. Navy says it is investigating the overnight possible missile attack from Yemen on a group of American warships in the Red Sea. Adm. John Richardson, the Navy's top officer, said Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, that the destroyer USS Mason appeared "to have come under attack." (AP Photo/File) FILE -- In this Saturday, March 12, 2011 file photo, U.S. destroyer USS Mason sails in the Suez canal in Ismailia, Egypt. The U.S. Navy says it is investigating the overnight possible missile attack from Yemen on a group of American warships in the Red Sea. Adm. John Richardson, the Navy's top officer, said Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, that the destroyer USS Mason appeared "to have come under attack." (AP Photo/File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The U.S. Navy on Sunday began investigating a possible overnight missile attack from Yemen on a group of American warships in the Red Sea amid uncertainty about what transpired.

The Red Sea and the nearby strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, a crucial chokepoint for international shipping and crude oil, has been the scene of what the U.S. describes as at least two missile attacks from rebel-held territory in Yemen. American forces have fired back once with Tomahawk missiles, destroying mobile radar positions in the first shots fired by the U.S. in anger in the stalemated conflict.

In the latest incident, a group of American warships in the Red Sea on Saturday night “had indications of a possible inbound missile threat and deployed appropriate defensive measures,” said Capt. Paula Dunn, a spokeswoman for U.S. Navy Forces Central Command. She said in a statement that all ships and sailors were safe, without elaborating.

An American defense official told The Associated Press on Sunday that one of the ships saw on radar what sailors believed to be missiles being fired on it out of Yemen at night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the incident not yet made public.

Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies did not immediately comment on the incident Saturday. Previously, the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency ran dispatches denying rebels ever fired on American warships.