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U.S. Navy helicopters sank three vessels operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea, the military said on Sunday.
Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged and Denmark-owned and -operated container ship, came under attack for a second time in 24 hours while transiting the Red Sea.
Bab al-Mandab Strait
Bab al-Mandab Strait is a strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
It is located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa.
The strait is 32 km wide at its narrowest point, and is divided into two channels by Perim Island.
The western channel is 16 miles (26 km) wide, and the eastern channel is 2 miles (3 km) wide.
The strait is a vital waterway for global trade, as it is the only passage between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
An estimated 3.3 million barrels (520,000 m3) of oil pass through the strait per day, as well as significant amounts of other goods and commodities.
The strait is also a major shipping route for vessels traveling between Europe and Asia.
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