American military helicopters came under fire from Iran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea on Sunday morning and fired back, sinking three Houthi boats and killing those on board, U.S. Central Command said.
The incident occurred after a commercial container ship was attacked by Houthi fighters in small boats and issued a distress call, prompting U.S. Navy helicopters to respond, the military said.
“While making verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired at the U.S. helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms,” Central Command said a statement on social media. “The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats and killing the crews.”
It was the latest and perhaps deadliest such incident involving the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen since Israel went to war with Hamas on October 7.
In solidarity with Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, the Houthis have launched dozens of rocket and drone attacks on commercial vessels and hijacked an Israeli-linked ship. The attacks have prompted the United States and its allies to deploy warships in the Red Sea, which is crucial to global shipping.
In early December, the destroyer USS Carney shot down three drones during a sustained Houthi attack on merchant ships in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. The U.S. military has not directly attacked the Houthis in Yemen, fearing an escalation that could cause the war in Gaza to further inflame the Middle East.
According to Central Command and Maersk, Sunday's incident involved a container ship owned by shipping giant Maersk that was transiting the southern Red Sea when it was attacked by Houthis.
The Maersk Hangzhou container ship reported that it was hit by a missile around 8:30 p.m. Saturday while it was about 55 nautical miles southwest of Hudaydah, Yemen. The crew “observed lightning on the deck,” Maersk said in an emailed statement.
Two American ships responded to the ship's distress call, and one of them, the USS Gravely, a destroyer, “fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the ships from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” the said Central Command on Social Media.
No injuries were reported and Maersk said its ship continued its journey north.
Then on Sunday morning, four small boats piloted by Houthis attacked the Maersk vessel, getting within about 20 meters of the vessel and attempting to board it, the Central Command's subsequent statement said. It said security officials opened fire from the container ship, which made another distress call, and that U.S. helicopters from the Gravely and the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower flew to the scene where they came under fire from the Houthis.
The U.S. military did not say how it knew the crew members of the three sunk boats had died. The fourth boat fled the area, Central Command said, adding that no U.S. personnel were injured or equipment damaged in the incident.
The collision occurred just days after Maersk announced it would resume sailings through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. About a week before this announcement, the company's ships had avoided the area for safety reasons.
On Sunday, Maersk said in an emailed statement that it would suspend “all transit through the area for the next 48 hours” while it investigates the attack and assesses safety on the waterway. The crew of the Maersk Hangzhou, which was traveling from Singapore to Port Suez, was safe, the company said.
According to the US, the attack was the Houthis' 23rd in about six weeks. The incidents have prompted some companies to avoid the Red Sea and reroute their ships around the Cape of Good Hope, driving up shipping fees even as longer voyages experience more delays.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the incident.
The United States announced this month that it had set up a naval task force to try to ensure safe passage for merchant ships in the Red Sea. Members of the security initiative called Operation Prosperity Guardian include Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.