Houthi fighters open the door of the cockpit on the ship's deck in the Red Sea in this photo released Nov/ 20, 2023. (Credit: Houthi Military Media/Handout via Reuters)
US Navy helicopters sank three vessels operated by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels that had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the military said Sunday, with Yemeni sources reporting 10 rebels killed.
After the Houthis fired on the US helicopters, they "returned fire in self-defense," sinking three of four small boats that had come within 20 meters of the ship, and killing the crews, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
It said the crews of the three vessels were killed while a fourth boat fled the area.
"Ten Huthis were killed and two were wounded in the US strike on Huthi boats that tried to stop a vessel in the sea off Hodeida," said a source, who asked not to be named, at Yemen's rebel-controlled Hodeida port.
Another port source, also requesting anonymity, said that "four survivors have arrived in Hodeida with two wounded who were taken to hospital."
CENTCOM said the navy responded to a request for assistance from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned and operated container ship that reported coming under attack for a second time in 24 hours while transiting the Red Sea.
The vessel had earlier been targeted with two anti-ship ballistic missiles that the US military shot down.
One of the missiles, both launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen, hit the Maersk Hangzhou.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.
The attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade, prompting the United States to set up a multinational naval task force this month to protect Red Sea shipping.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The United States rushed military aid to support Israel, which has carried out a relentless campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 21,672 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry.
Those deaths have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks by armed groups across the region that are opposed to Israel.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have also repeatedly come under fire from drone and rocket attacks that Washington says are being carried out by Iran-backed armed groups.
After the Houthis fired on the US helicopters, they "returned fire in self-defense," sinking three of four small boats that had come within 20...