US military says helicopters sank Houthi boats carrying out 2nd attack on vessel in Red Sea

US Central Command says Iranian-backed Houthi small boats attacked a merchant vessel and US Navy helicopters in the southern Red Sea.

The US military says the Maersk Hangzhou issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours when Houthis opened fire and attempted to board the vessel.

Security teams on the boat returned fire and the US military dispatched helicopters to the scene.

Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, responding to distress calls from the Maersk Hangzhou, returned fire on the Houthi boats in self-defense and sank three of the vessels with no survivors, the US military says. The fourth boat fled the area.

Maersk confirms the report of an incident involving the Hangzhou after the vessel had passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait en route from Singapore to Egypt.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling the terror group Hamas.