A new video has emerged revealing additional details of how a Houthi suicide boat attacked a Royal Saudi frigate last week.
The footage — from the ship’s internal close circuit television network – shows the collision of the boat laden with explosives hit the port quarter of the frigate Al Madinah (702) on a clear day with mostly calm seas.
The Jan. 30 attack resulted in the loss of two Saudi sailors. The frigate returned to its homeport at the Royal Saudi Navy base in Jeddah on the Red Sea on Sunday — shortly after the video emerged of the attack.
The response to the attack, the U.S. Navy sent the destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) off of Yemen, south of the Bab Al-Mandeb strait on a presence operation to reassure allies in the region.
Cole and its crew were the victim of a similar suicide boat attack when it was docked in Yemen in 2000. The attack killed 17 sailors and injured more than 30.
The U.S. made a similar show of presence following the anti-ship cruise missile attack on the UAE leased HSV Swift sending two guided missile destroyers and amphibious warships to the Red Sea.
