Houthis claim attack which damaged UK-registered cargo ship

The Iran-backed Houthis also claimed they shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, something not immediately acknowledged by US forces in the region

Houthi supporters attend a rally against the US-led strikes against Yemen and in the support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen (Osamah Abdulrahman/AP)

A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damaged a UK-registered ship travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, forcing the crew to abandon the ship, authorities said on Monday.

The attack on the ship came as the US military acknowledged conducting new airstrikes targeting the rebels, including one that targeted the first Houthi underwater drone seen since the rebels began launching their attacks on shipping in November.