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,” 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. The security guards on board fired their weapons. The EU Operation Aspides and the private security firm Ambrey both reported those details.

While the Houthis haven’t claimed the attack — they can take days to claim one — Yemen’s exiled government and the EU force blamed the rebels, as did the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.

“The Houthis are once again showing blatant disregard for human life, undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” said the embassy, which has operated out of Saudi Arabia for nearly a decade due to the civil war in Yemen.

“The intentional murder of innocent mariners shows us all the Houthis’ true colors and will only further the Houthis’ isolation,” it added.

The EU force offered the casualty information, saying one of the wounded crew lost his leg. The crew remains stuck on board the vessel, drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis on Sunday attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel loaded with fertilizer and steel billets for Turkey.

On Tuesday night, the Houthis released a propaganda video that included their forces hailing the vessel in English over VHF radio, threatening it. The footage included masked Houthi gunmen later boarding the empty vessel, likely after the crew escaped.

The gunmen stormed the ship’s bridge, running over broken glass. They then appeared in drone footage chanting the Houthis’ slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.” Finally, explosives likely planted on the vessel exploded, sinking it. The Houthis released a similar video after their attack on the tanker Sounion in August 2024.

The attack on the Magic Seas drew international criticism.

“These attacks directly threaten regional peace and stability,” the EU warned.