Ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea, 6 of 25 aboard rescued

By JON GAMBRELL DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP A Liberian-flagged cargo ship attacked by Yemen s Houthi rebels sank Wednesday in the Red Sea with a European naval force in the Mideast saying that only six of people who were on board have been rescued The attack on the Eternity C which also killed at least three of the crew represents the the greater part serious assault carried out by the Houthis in the crucial maritime pact highway that once saw trillion in cargo pass through annually From November until the following December the Houthis targeted more than ships with missiles and drones in a campaign the rebels describe as supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war The Iranian-backed rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U S President Donald Trump The attack on the Eternity C as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas in another attack Sunday raise new questions about the Red Sea s safety as ships had slowly begun returning to its waters Meanwhile a new doable ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war as well as the future of talks between the U S and Iran over Tehran s battered nuclear venture remain in the balance We are now with grave concern seeing an escalation in the Red Sea with attacks on two commercial ships earlier this week by Ansar Allah resulting in civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the prospective for environmental damage warned United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg using another name for the rebels The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet Oregon July Mike Cullom via AP The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen in Split Croatia Jan Sinisa Aljinovic via AP Show Caption of The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet Oregon July Mike Cullom via AP Expand of on board have been rescued A comment from the European Union naval mission in the Red Sea reported the crew of the ship included sailors among them Filipinos and one Russian as well as a three-member shield squad Those rescued were five Filipinos and one Indian Three people also were killed during the hourslong attack on the ship the EU force disclosed and their nationalities were not without delay known Related Articles Israeli strikes kill in Gaza with no sign of a breakthrough after Trump s talks with Netanyahu European court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind downing Flight MH Pope prays for world to recognize urgency of atmosphere problem as he celebrates Mass using new rite Trump s tariffs may overshadow Rubio s first official trip to Asia Trump hosts West African leaders as the region reels from sweeping US aid cuts The armed rebels had attacked the ship with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms later using two drones and two drone boats carrying bombs to strike the vessel the EU force announced The Eternity C sank at a m Wednesday it added The ship flagged out of Liberia but owned by a Greek firm likely had been targeted like the Magic Seas over its firm doing business with Israel Neither vessel apparently requested an escort from the EU force The U S military has two aircraft carriers in the Mideast the USS Nimitz and the USS Carl Vinson but both likely are in the Arabian Sea far from the site of the attacks There are two American destroyers thought to be operating in the Red Sea However the ships attacked had no U S ties and a ceasefire between the Houthis and America publicized after the bombing campaign earlier this year still appears to be holding Brig Gen Yahya Saree a Houthi military spokesman claimed the attack in a prerecorded message Wednesday night as the EU force acknowledged it was still searching for those onboard with private industry rescuers The assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since late in the waterway that had begun to see more ships pass through in up-to-date weeks Attacks draw condemnation The attacks on the ships drew immediate international condemnation These attacks demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime precaution U S State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce commented The United States has been clear We will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks The EU force earlier mentioned one of the wounded crew lost his leg Grundberg the U N envoy also decried the targeting of civilian infrastructure after Israel bombed three Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen over the weekend and hit a power station Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country he warned during an address to the Shield Council Satellite photos show damage from an Israeli strike Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press revealed new damage at Yemen s rebel-controlled port at Hodeida after it was targeted by the Israeli airstrikes The images from Planet Labs PBC presented new portions of the pier at the port torn away by Israeli bombing likely to affect the unloading of cargo there In conducting the strikes Israel revealed the Houthis used the port to smuggle military equipment into the country a growing worry of analysts and Yemen watchers in fresh years Hodeida is the main entry point for food and other humanitarian aid for millions of Yemenis Jamal Amer a Houthi official reportedly disclosed Wednesday that shipments continue to arrive smoothly to Hodeida In comments published by the Houthis al-Masirah satellite channel Amer also declared that damage at the port directly affects civilians and is a disgrace to the United Nations which is complicit in these crimes through its suspicious silence Yemen s war began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen s exiled executive considered trying to retake Hodeida by force in but ultimately decided against it as international criticism and worries about the port being destroyed grew