Saudi Arabia condemns attacks on U.S. warship off Yemeni coasts

Saudi Arabia condemned on Monday an attack on an American destroyer in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The U.S. Navy said on Monday that two missiles fired from rebel-held territory in Yemen landed near the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea.

"The attack was a terrorist act that jeopardizes international maritime (security) and a systematized attack carried out by an Iran-backed militia targeting commercial marine at the Strait of Bab el-Mandab," a Saudi official said in a statement.

This attack came after several other recent acts by the Houthi-Saleh alliance, including an attack on a United Arab Emirates vessel carrying humanitarian aid on Oct. 1, the continual aggression against civilians in the Saudi border towns, and the launching of ballistic missiles toward Saudi territories.

The statement said the last launched missile was intercepted on Sunday toward Saudi Arabia's Mecca.

On Saturday, reports said that Saudi-led airstrikes targeted Qaah al-Kubra, one of the Yemeni capital Sanaa's biggest event halls, as it was hosting a funeral ceremony.

According to medical sources, the attack left more than 140 people killed, including military leaders and government officials allied with Iran-backed Shiite Houthis.

However, Saudi Arabia has denied its involvement in the attack.

The situation in Yemen has deteriorated economically and politically since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Houthis and Saleh's forces hold most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces share control of the rest of the country including seven southern provinces. Endit