At least 10 Houthi rebels were killed Sunday when US forces struck their boats in the Red Sea, two sources at Yemen's Hodeida port said.

The US military earlier said it had destroyed several small boats operated by the Iran-backed Houthis after the rebels had attacked and tried to board a container ship.

One source at the rebel-controlled port said the wounded were rescued following the strike. The other source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were four other survivors.

"Ten Houthis were killed and two were wounded in the US strike on Houthi boats that tried to stop a vessel in the sea off Hodeida," the first source said.

The second source said that "four survivors have arrived in Hodeida with two wounded who were taken to hospital".

The US Navy had responded to a distress call from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned and operated container ship that reported coming under attack for a second time in 24 hours while transiting the Red Sea, the US Central Command said in a statement.

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Houthis had fired on US helicopters, who "returned fire in self-defence", sinking three of four small boats that had come within 20 meters of the ship, according to the statement.

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