The attacks jeopardize a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of world trade
New Delhi:
US Navy helicopters sank three ships operated by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels who had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the military said on Sunday.
After the Huthis fired on the US helicopters, they returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats that came within 20 meters of the ship and killing the crews, the US said Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement. rack.
“The fourth boat fled the area,” it added.
CENTCOM said the Navy responded to a request for assistance from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged container ship owned and operated by Denmark, which reported it was attacked for the second time in 24 hours while transiting the Red Sea sailed.
Iran-backed Houthi small boats attack US Navy merchant ships and helicopters in the southern Red Sea
At 6:30 am on December 31 (Sanaa time), the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours, reporting that it was under attack by four Iranian-backed… pic.twitter.com/pj8NAzjbVF
– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 31, 2023
The ship had previously been the target of two anti-ship ballistic missiles that the US military shot down.
One of the missiles, both launched from Huthi-controlled Yemen, hit the Maersk Hangzhou.
The Huthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the vital Red Sea shipping lane in strikes they say support Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling the Hamas group.
The attacks jeopardize a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of world trade, prompting the United States to set up a multinational naval task force this month to protect shipping in the Red Sea.
The latest round of the Israeli-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian Hamas group carried out a shocking cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7, killing around 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 waged a brutal campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 21,672 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-held territory's health ministry.
These deaths have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and fueled attacks by armed groups opposed to Israel across the region.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have also come under repeated fire from drone and missile attacks that Washington says are carried out by Iranian-backed armed groups.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
