Ten Houthi rebels were killed by the American fire that sunk in the Red Sea their boats while attacking a container ship, two sources in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah said today.

“Ten Houthis were killed and two wounded in the US strike on Houthi ships attempting to stop a ship at sea off Hodeidah,” said one of the two sources.

The injured were rescued after the attack and taken to hospital and four other people also survived, according to the port sources, who spoke to French Agency asking not to be named.

The U.S. military earlier announced it had sunk three Houthi rebels’ boats after attacks in the Red Sea on a Danish shipping company’s container ship. Maersk Transportwhich suspended the passage of its ships from the area for 48 hours.

After being targeted by Houthi fire, U.S. helicopters “responded in a self-defense situation by sinking three of the four small vessels and killing the crews,” according to a statement from the U.S. military command in charge of the attack. Middle East (Centcom), which also states that a fourth ship “escaped the zone”.

From the beginning of the conflict between in Israel and Hamasfollowing the bloody attack carried out on October 7 by the Islamist Palestinian movement on Israeli territory, the Houthis have increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships they consider “linked to Israel”, in solidarity with the Palestinian territory which is being bombed and besieged by the Israeli army.

The Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged container ship owned by Denmark’s Maersk, was the victim of “the 23rd attempted attack since October 19 by the Houthis against international ships,” Centcom said.