Yemeni rebels said today that they had launched “drones and missiles” at a US ship, after British and US forces said they had thwarted “the most serious attack” by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea.

The rebels, who are close to Iran, carried out a “large number of ballistic and anti-ship missile, drone operation targeting a US ship providing assistance to the Zionist entity,” they said without specifying the date or location of the attack.

It is an “initial response to the sneak attack against our forces on December 31,” they added. Responding to a request for help from a merchant ship, US Navy helicopters sank three Houthi ships that day, killing ten crew members.

Since the start of the October 7 war between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have been increasing attacks in the Red Sea against ships suspected of having ties to Israel, saying they were acting in solidarity to the Palestinians of Gaza.

Israel’s first ally, the US formed an international coalition in December to guarantee security in this strategically important region through which 12% of world trade passes.

Today, British and US armed forces said they shot down 18 drones and three missiles in the Red Sea overnight in a “sophisticated” attack.

The British ship HMS Diamond together with US Navy ships “successfully prevented the most serious Houthi attack to date in the Red Sea,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on Platform X.

“Diamond intercepted several drone attacks in its direction and on merchant ships in that area,” he added, clarifying that there were no injuries or damage.

Last night’s attack is the 26th against merchant shipping in the Red Sea since mid-January, according to the US military’s Middle East Command.