From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 3 hours ago, updated 21 minutes ago
An American destroyer. AARON LAU / AFP
After the Houthis fired on American helicopters, they responded “in self-defense by sinking three of the four small ships and killing the crews.”
U.S. Navy helicopters sank three Houthi rebel boats in Yemen after they attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the military said Sunday.
After the Houthis fired on American helicopters, they responded “in self-defense, sinking three of the four small ships and killing the crews,” the American military command in the Middle East (Centcom) said in a press release. The fourth boat had “fled the area” .
Centcom said the U.S. Navy was responding to a request for assistance from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged Danish container ship that reported an attack while sailing in the Red Sea for the second time in 24 hours. The ship had previously been attacked by two ballistic missiles fired from Yemeni territory and shot down by the US military.
Also read: In the Red Sea, the USA is preparing for a military escalation against the Houthis
Multinational naval forces
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, following the Palestinian Islamist movement's deadly Oct. 7 attack in Israel, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships using the vital Red Sea sea route, saying attacks were intended to kill the Palestinians to support Palestinians in Gaza. The attacks jeopardize a transit route that handles up to 12% of global trade and prompted the United States earlier this month to build a multinational naval force to protect ships off the Red Sea.
Immediately after the American announcement, the Danish company Maersk announced that it would suspend the passage of its ships in the Red Sea for 48 hours.
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