US helicopters sink three Houthi boats in the Red Sea, Pentagon says
U.S. military helicopters came under fire from Iran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea on Sunday morning and returned fire, sinking three Houthi boats and killing those on board, the U.S. Central Command said.
The episode 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 issuing 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 US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats and killing the crew.”
It was the latest and perhaps deadliest 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 ships and seized an Israeli-linked ship. The attacks prompted the United States and allies to deploy warships in the Red Sea, which is critical to global shipping.
In early December, the destroyer USS Carney shot down three drones during an ongoing Houthi attack on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. The US military has not directly attacked the Houthis in Yemen, wary of an escalation that could lead to the war in Gaza further inflaming the Middle East.
Sunday’s incident involved a container ship owned by shipping giant Maersk, which was sailing through the southern Red Sea when it was attacked by Houthis, according to statements from the Central Command and Maersk.
The container ship, the Maersk Hangzhou, reported it was struck by a missile around 8:30 PM on Saturday while about 55 nautical miles southwest of Hudaydah, Yemen. The crew “observed a flash on the deck,” Maersk said in an emailed statement.
Two U.S. ships responded to the ship’s distress call, and one of them, the USS Gravely, a destroyer, “shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the ships from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” Central Command said . said on social media.
No injuries were reported and Maersk said the ship had continued its journey north.
Then, on Sunday morning, four small boats piloted by Houthis attacked the Maersk ship, came within about 20 meters of the ship and tried to board it, the Central Command said in its subsequent statement. It said security officers opened fire from the container ship, which issued another distress call, and that U.S. helicopters from the Gravely and the USS Eisenhower, an aircraft carrier, flew to the scene, where they came under fire from the Houthis.
The U.S. military did not indicate how it knew the crews of the three boats it sank had been killed. The fourth boat fled the area, Central Command said, adding that no U.S. personnel were injured or equipment damaged during the episode.
The clash came just days after Maersk said it was resuming voyages through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. About a week before that announcement, the company’s ships avoided the area due to safety concerns.
The United States said the attack was the 23rd by the Houthis 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, pushing up shipping rates even as the longer voyages mean more delays.
There was no immediate statement on the incident from the Houthis.
The United States announced this month that it had formed a naval task force to try to ensure safe passage for commercial ships in the Red Sea. Members of the security initiative, called Operation Prosperity Guardian, include Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.