Story highlights Two missiles were fired at a US warship in the Red Sea Sunday, the Pentagon says

The missiles were launched from Houthi-held territory in war-torn Yemen

(CNN) Two missiles targeted a US warship off the coast of Yemen on Sunday but missed the vessel and hit the water instead, a Pentagon spokesman said.

The USS Mason conducts formation exercises with Navy patrol crafts in September.

The missiles were fired at the USS Mason from Houthi-controlled territory in war-torn Yemen, Capt. Jeff Davis said, adding that the guided-missile destroyer deployed "onboard defensive measures" and was undamaged.

But the Houthis -- a minority Shia group that has taken control of much of Yemen, including the capital -- denied Monday that its forces had targeted the warship.

An official from the Houthi-controlled military said the reports were aimed at covering up a "heinous" Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a wake Saturday in the capital, Sanaa, that officials said killed at least 155 people, the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency reported.

"Reports that allege that Yemeni rockets targeted ships off the Yemeni (coast) are baseless," the official said.