A video surfaced online Sunday showing the exact moment Iranian-backed rebels slammed a speedboat packed with explosives into a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen, killing two and injuring three.
Houthi rebels in Yemen bombed the al-Madinah, a Saudi frigate traversing the Mandeb Strait, last Monday. The rebels claimed that they hit the frigate with a ballistic missile; however, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen reported that the ship was attacked by three speedboats.
Sunday’s video shows the attack from the perspective of an on-board camera. A small boat can be seen speeding into the frigate and exploding.
Footage of the attack on the Saudi frigate was first provided by the pro-Houthi outlet al-Masirah TV.
Saudi Arabia claims that it was able to repel two of the speedboats, but one broke through their defenses, hitting the stern and igniting a fire in the hull. The ship has returned to port in Jeddah, reports the Washington Post.
Backed by Iran, the Houthi rebels have been fighting for control of Yemen since they overthrew the pro-American government in 2014. Saudi Arabia, with the support of several other regional states, began an air assault against the rebels the following year. The coalition later stepped up its efforts with intense ground attacks.
The U.S. has provided intelligence, weaponry, and combat services to aid the Saudi-led coalition’s campaign.
The recent attack on the Saudi ship occurred where two U.S. warships came under attack last year.
Last October, after an attack on an Emerati transport ship, Houthi rebels fired anti-ship cruise missiles at U.S. warships on patrol. The U.S. warships were able to intercept the incoming projectiles with SM-2 missiles. The U.S. responded by striking the radar sites used to launch the missiles with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Following last Monday’s assault, the Department of Defense sent the destroyer USS Cole to patrol the Mandeb Strait.
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