Beirut (Lebanon):Yemen's Houthi group informed that US Naval forces killed 10 of its fighters in the Red Sea.
The fighters attempting to hijack a commercial ship in global waters.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea on Sunday said, US forces launched an assault on three boats of the Houthi rebels, Xinhua news agency reported.
He elaborated that the rebels were "performing their humanitarian and moral duty" to avert Israeli ships from passing through the Red Sea, "in solidarity and support for the Palestinian people."
As per the spokesman US "bears the consequences of this crime," and that the "military movements in the Red Sea to protect Israeli ships will not prevent Yemen (Houthi militia) from performing its humanitarian duty in support of Palestine and Gaza".
The official elaborated that they targetted the cargo ship "with appropriate naval missiles,".
Earlier on Sunday, the US Central Command said its naval forces quickly responded to the alert at Red Sea, sinking three Houthi boats and eliminating all their crews.
The Singapore-flagged "container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU also issued another distress call within less than 24 hours stating that it was facing attack by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats ... from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen," the US Central Command posted on X.
The Houthi militants fired "small arms weapons at the MAERSK HANGZHOU, getting to within 20 metre of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel," it said."US helicopters from the USS EISENHOWER (CVN 69) and GRAVELY (DDG 107) responded to the distress call and in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the US helicopters ... The US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defence, sinking three of the four small boats and killing the crews. The fourth boat fled the area," it added.
"There was no damage to US personnel or equipment," the US Central Command noted.Hours earlier on Sunday, the US Central Command said the container ship reported that it was struck by a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea, and there were no injuries among its crew."While responding, the USS GRAVELY shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the ships," the US Central Command said in another post on X."This is the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19," it added.
The Houthis stepped up their attack on Israel-linked ships since the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7.
They demanded the entry of food and medicine to the Palestinian enclave in Gaza Strip.
They are in control of much of northern Yemen, that includes capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
Read More
- Explained: Impact of Houthi's attack on merchant navy vessels in Red Sea
- Houthi attacks on ships passing through Red Sea: How it will impact Indian economy
