DUBAI, United Arab Emirates An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea killed three mariners and wounded two others, a European Union naval force said Tuesday, highlighting the danger of the group’s renewed campaign targeting a key maritime route for international trade.

The attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C follows the Iranian-backed Houthis attacking another vessel, the bulk carrier Magic Seas, on Sunday in the Red Sea that they said subsequently sank. The assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since late 2024 on the waterway that had begun to see more ships pass through in recent weeks.

“We haven’t seen any real attacks on merchant shipping since December last year,” said Wolf-Christian Paes, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “And they’re back with a bang.”

The bulk carrier had been heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones Monday night. Security guards fire back.

— The Associated Press