Three dead in first fatal Houthi attack in the Red Sea

• Three people were killed in a Houthi attack against a merchant ship — marking the first fatalities claimed by the group since it began targeting vessels in the Red Sea.
• The vessel True Confidence "suffered damage" in a Houthi altercation on Wednesday, after being hailed by an entity declaring itself as the "Yemeni Navy" for 30 minutes and ordered to alter course, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations.
• The Houthis have claimed the attack.

Three people were killed in a Houthi attack against a civilian merchant ship, U.S. authorities said, marking the first lives claimed since the Iran-backed militant group began targeting the Red Sea shipping route at the end of last year.

The U.S. Central Command said late Wednesday night that Houthi forces struck the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday with an anti-ship ballistic missile, leading to several fatalities.

"The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship," Centcom said. "The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded and are assessing the situation."

The Philippines Department of Migrant Workers identified two of the seafarers killed and two of the crew members injured in the incident as Filipino in a social media post early Thursday.

"With great sadness, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirms the deaths of two Filipino seafarers in the most recent attack by Houthi rebels on ships plying the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden," it said, withholding their names and identities. "We are also informed that two other Filipino crewmen were severely injured in