By Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
The US military sank three vessels belonging to Yemen’s Houthis during a confrontation in the Red Sea on Sunday, killing 10, as tensions continue to rise in the region due to the US-backed Israeli slaughter in Gaza.
According to US Central Command, four Houthi boats were attacking and attempting to seize the container ship Maersk Hangzhou, which was struck by a missile a day earlier. CENTCOM said helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to the Hangzhou’s distress call and then engaged with the Houthi boats.
“In the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the US helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms,” CENTCOM said. “The US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews.”
The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, confirmed the incident and said at least 10 of their navy personnel were killed. The Houthis have been launching attacks on Israel-linked shipping in protest of the assault on Gaza and have vowed they won’t back down in the face of the US Navy.
The Houthis said the boats the US attacked were “performing their humanitarian and moral duty… to prevent Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from passing through the Red Sea.”
According to Al Maydeen, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the US “bears the consequences and repercussions of this crime” and affirmed that the US military “maneuvers in the Red Sea to protect Israeli vessels will not deter Yemen from fulfilling its religious, moral, and humanitarian duty to support and champion the oppressed in Palestine and Gaza.”
The Times of London reported Sunday that the US and the UK were preparing direct strikes on the Houthis, which would involve bombing Yemen. Such attacks would risk breaking the fragile peace in Yemen between the Houthis and the US-backed Saudi-led coalition that’s held relatively well since April 2022.
According to the Times report, the US and the UK are expected to release a statement later on Sunday warning the Houthis to stop their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea before or that they would face the “military might of the West.”
While portrayed as “rebels” in Western media, the Houthis have controlled the Yemeni capital of Sanaa since 2014 and govern an area where 70-80% of Yemen’s population lives.
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Dave DeCamp
Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.