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DUBAI (Reuters) – U.S. Navy helicopters destroyed three of four boats used by fighters belonging to the Yemeni Houthi rebel movement to attack a commercial ship, the U.S. command (Centcom) said.
The helicopters responded to distress calls made by the crew of the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged container ship.
No survivors were reported among the occupants of the three sunken boats. The fourth managed to escape.
The Iran-allied Houthis, who control most of Yemen, are disrupting global trade by attacking ships passing through the Bab el Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea in response, they say. they, to the war waged by Israel in Gaza.
Danish shipping carrier Maersk confirmed that the cargo ship’s crew reported an attack at 1730 GMT on Friday while it was some 55 nautical miles southwest of Al Hodeidah.
According to the Danish press agency Ritzau, it immediately announced the suspension for 48 hours of all traffic of its fleet through the Red Sea.
(Ahmed Elimam; French version Nicolas Delame)
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