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Yemen
The US sank three Huthi boats after attacking a Danish ship
Daniel Nilsson
Updated 16.47 | Published 15.49
The USS Dwight D.Eisenhower has been stationed in the Red Sea since Iran-backed Huthi rebels launched several attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Photo: Information Technician Second Class Ruskin Naval / AP
Three boats have been sunk and their crewmen killed by US helicopters in the Red Sea.
The deadly attack occurred after Huthi rebels from Yemen tried to board a Danish-owned ship.
- This is a clear signal from the US that it will cost the Houthis if they continue with the attacks, says Jan Hallenberg, researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute.
The situation off the coast of Yemen continues to escalate. On Saturday evening, local time, the Danish-owned container ship Maersk Hangzhou was attacked by robots in the Red Sea. The US destroyer USS Gravley responded to the call and shot down two rockets fired from areas controlled by the Houthi rebels.
Less than 24 hours later, the same Danish ship sent another distress call. Four smaller boats from the Houthi movement then fired at the ship in an attempt to board it.
From the American warship USS Eisenhower, which also navigated to the site, two helicopters took off to issue verbal warnings. When the helicopters were also fired upon, they returned fire and sank three of the small boats, killing ten of the crew. The fourth boat then fled the area, writes the US military command Centcom on X.
The Maersk "Mumbai" in the picture is a similar ship to the one that was attacked on Sunday in the Red Sea. Photo: Sina Schuldt / AP
Photo released by the Huthi rebels shows one of their helicopters approaching the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, the day the attacks on ships in the Red Sea began. Photo: AP
23 attacks in just over a month
It is also written that this is the 23rd attack since the Houthis intensified their offensive against all ships in the Red Sea, something that is done in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
- This is a clear signal from the US
that it will cost the Houthis if they continue to attack, says Jan Hallenberg, associate senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute.
The United States has also accused Iran of being involved in the attacks, but Iran has rejected that accusation. And it is hard for Jan Hallenberg to imagine any risk of a regional war on the mainland at the moment.
- For the United States, the threshold is unusually high with regard to this region. You don't want things to flare up there again and you don't want to get involved in the unstable situation in Yemen. Therefore, they have not attacked the mainland where the rockets are fired from, but only defended themselves at sea, says Hallenberg.
The Danish government will send a frigate to the US-led coalition Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. Photo: Danish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Stopping all traffic on the Red Sea - again
He emphasizes that the situation in the area is complicated, but that the route through the Red Sea and out into Europe through the Suez Canal is strategically important for many countries. The US already has ships in the area and last week Denmark also decided to send a frigate to participate in the effort to protect international maritime traffic.
- It is better than nothing, but it is the American capacity that counts, so far anyway. But should it escalate, the Chinese have a base there and it is only so much that such a large trading nation can withstand, but even for them the threshold is very high, says Hallenberg.
The shipping company Maersk announces that no one on board Maersk Hangzhou was injured in connection with the incident. It has now been decided to suspend all transport on the Red Sea - only four days after it started driving there again on a trial basis after a previous stop.
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