UK says warship repelled Houthi drone attack in Red Sea

A British warship, the HMS Diamond, repelled a drone attack on Saturday from Yemen’s Houthi group in the Red Sea, British officials said.

“Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

“These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”

The Iran-aligned Houthi movement began launching waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels on Nov. 19 in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. On Friday, a tanker vessel was attacked, sparking a fire on board.

US and British warplanes, ships, and submarines have responded to the Houthi attacks on shipping with dozens of retaliatory strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces.