Red Sea patrol can thwart Houthi attacks, says US

The US's new international naval coalition will serve as a "highway patrol" to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants even though it won't escort individual vessels, a Pentagon spokesman said. The force, announced Monday, will patrol "the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to and assist as necessary commercial vessels," Major General Pat Ryder said in a phone interview Friday. He said he didn't want to understate the challenge but said the effort will be enough to "reassure global shipping and mariners that they can safely transit the Red Sea area."