BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them, sparking an escalation in the maritime conflict led to the war in Gaza. “We will act in self-defense moving forward,” a White House official said.

In a series of statements, U.S. Central Command said the crew of the destroyer USS Gravely initially shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou late Saturday, after the ship earlier reported in the evening that it had been hit by a missile as it sailed through the southern Red Sea.

Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday and rebels tried to board the ship, the U.S. Navy said.

Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.

“The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” sinking three of the four boats and killing those on board, while the fourth boat fled the area, U.S. Central Command said. No damage to U.S. personnel or equipment or casualties from the cargo ship were reported.

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

In Washington, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council sidestepped a question about the possibility of a preemptive strike against the Houthis to protect commercial shipping in the vital waterway.

“I’m not going to say what’s at stake or not right now,” John Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” adding, “We’re going to do what we have to do to protect shipping.” He said, The United States has “significant national security interests in the region” and “we will deploy the type of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we will act in self-defense going forward.”

He said the U.S. had made it clear to the Houthis that “we take these threats seriously and will make the right decisions going forward.”

The events surrounding the Maersk Hangzhou marked the Houthis’ 23rd illegal attack on international shipping since November 19, the Central Command said. It was the first time since the Red Sea attacks began that the U.S. Navy said its personnel had killed Houthi fighters.

For more than a month, the Iran-backed Houthis have claimed that there have been attacks in the Red Sea on ships they say are either linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. They say their attacks are aimed at ending Israel’s air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel.

However, the connections to the target ships of the rebel attacks become more and more uncertain the longer the attacks last.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee called on President Joe Biden to “consider what actions need to be taken in Yemen to prevent the Houthis from continuing to threaten commercial and military vessels.”

Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, citing Iran’s support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, told ABC’s “This Week” that the Biden administration should more aggressively “respond to Iran’s escalation.”

Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk, owner of Maersk Hangzhou, said on Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again following the two attacks on its freighter.

“In light of the (recent) incident – ​​and to allow time to investigate the details of the incident and further assess the security situation – it has been decided to postpone all transit through the area for the next 48 hours. “ Maersk was quoted by Danish public broadcaster DR.

On Saturday, the top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels had shown no signs of ending their “ruthless” attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, even as more nations joined the international maritime mission to protect ships in the Red Sea Connecting the sea Waterway and commercial traffic is increasing.

Earlier this month, Washington announced the creation of a new international coalition to protect ships traveling through the waterway. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are also part of the new maritime security mission.

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

—-

Associated Press writer Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland, contributed to this report.