A US Central Command spokesperson said helicopter gunships successfully stopped the attack on the Danish owned Maersk Hangzhou after Houthi fighters attempted to board it

A spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces said the US would bear the ‘consequences and repercussions’ for the deaths (
Image: Getty Images)

Militants have made chilling threats to US after Navy helicopters killed 10 Yemen-based Houthi rebels who attacked containership in the Red Sea.

A spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces said the US would bear the ‘consequences and repercussions’ for the deaths, which came during a confrontation today (Sun).

And they called on the country’s population to “prepared for all options” in order to confront what they called “American escalation” in the region.

They said: “The American enemy bears the consequences of this crime and its repercussions, and that its military movements in the Red Sea.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces call on the sons of our great Yemeni people and all the free people of our Arab and Islamic nation to be extremely vigilant and prepared for all options in order to confront the American escalation.”

Navy helicopters from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier took part in the mission ( 

Image:
Getty Images)
A US Central Command spokesperson said they’d destroyed three boats and killed 10 Houthi rebels were killed after they’d attempted to board the Maersk Hangzhou. The news came after the military earlier shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired towards the same vessel by members of the Iranian backed militia group.

The spokesperson said they’d rushed to vessel after receiving a distress call from the 353m Danish owned vessel at 6.30am. They said attackers in four boats had fired small arms weapons at the ship after getting to within about 20m of it.

Maersk said it would now suspend operations in the Red Sea after the attack ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
Helicopters from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier and Gravely responded to the distress call while security team on the ship returned fire. And while issuing verbal warnings to the attackers, the small boat crews shot at the helicopters, the US Central Command spokesperson added.

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They said the Navy helicopters had then returned fire in self-defense – sinking three of the four boats and killing the crews while the fourth boat fled the area.

The firefight took place after the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou reported that it had been hit by a missile on Saturday night while transiting the Southern Red Sea and requested assistance. The US Central Command added that the boat remains seaworthy and no injuries were noted.

The Houthis later acknowledged that 10 of their fighters were killed in the confrontation and warned of consequences.

The Iran-backed rebels have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their raids are aimed to end Israel’s air and ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip following the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7.

The Yemeni Armed Forces added: “The morality declared by Yemen in preventing Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from passing through the Red Sea, out of solidarity and support for the Palestinian people, was that the American enemy forces attacked three boats belonging to the Yemeni naval forces, which led to the martyrdom and loss of 10 members of the naval forces.”

“We also call on the rest of the countries not to engage in the dangerous American behavior, as it will have negative repercussions that may affect everyone.

“In another context, and with God’s grace, the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces succeeded in carrying out a military operation targeting the Maersk Hangzhou container ship, which was heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, with appropriate naval missiles.”

Maersk said on Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again after the two attacks on its freighter.

Their spokesperson told the Danish public broadcaster DR: “In light of the (most recent) incident – and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further – it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours.”

On Saturday, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.

Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have travelled through the Red Sea region, and none has been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview.