WASHINGTON: US Navy helicopters sank three vessels operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels that had attacked a container ship within the Crimson Sea, the navy mentioned Sunday.After the Huthis fired on the US helicopters, they “returned fireplace in self-defense”, sinking three of 4 small boats that had come inside 20 meters of the ship, and killing the crews, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned in an announcement.”The fourth boat fled the world,” it added.CENTCOM mentioned the navy responded to a request for help from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned and operated container ship that reported coming beneath assault for a second time in 24 hours whereas transiting the Crimson Sea.The vessel had earlier been focused with two anti-ship ballistic missiles that the US navy shot down.One of many missiles, each launched from Huthi-controlled Yemen, hit the Maersk Hangzhou.The Huthis have repeatedly focused vessels within the important Crimson Sea delivery lane with strikes they are saying are in help of Palestinians in Gaza, the place Israel is battling militant group Hamas.The assaults are endangering a transit route that carries as much as 12 p.c of world commerce, prompting the USA to arrange a multinational naval process pressure this month to guard Crimson Sea delivery.The newest spherical of the Israel-Hamas battle started when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border assault from Gaza on October 7 that killed about 1,140 individuals, largely civilians, in accordance with an AFP tally primarily based on Israeli figures.The US rushed navy support to help Israel, which has carried out a relentless marketing campaign in Gaza that has killed at the least 21,672 individuals, additionally largely civilians, in accordance with the Hamas-run territory’s well being ministry.These deaths have sparked widespread anger within the Center East and supplied an impetus for assaults by armed teams throughout the area which can be against Israel.US forces in Iraq and Syria have additionally repeatedly come beneath fireplace from drone and rocket assaults that Washington says are being carried out by Iran-backed armed teams.