The suicide attack against a Saudi frigate off the Yemen coast, in which two sailors died, might have been intended for a US ship Fox News reported, citing two defense officials.

Two Saudi sailors were killed during the attack that was carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea using three boats.

The Saudi warship “dealt with the boats”, but one of them “collided with the back of the ship and exploded and caused a fire” killing two and injuring three more.

But American intelligence officials say that after analyzing video footage of the attack a voice can be heard shouting in Arabic: “Allahu akbar [God is great], death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory for Islam.”

Now US defense analysts say they believe either the attacking forces thought the bombers were targeting an American navy warship, or they were carrying out a dress rehearsal Fox News reported.

The attack happened close to where US Navy warships came under missile attack in October last year.

The defense officials told Fox News they were concerned by the recent incident, but that they were confident American navy ships were capable of defending themselves.

President Donald Trump had spoken to Saudi’s King Salman the day before the most recent attack.

WATCH: How the attack was carried out To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading your web browser





Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:48 - GMT 06:48