U.S., French and British forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea area overnight and on Saturday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and U.S. destroyers in the region, the U.S. military said in a statement.

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Saturday they had targeted the cargo vessel and "a number of U.S. war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones".

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the U.S. military and coalition forces had downed at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday.

"No U.S. or Coalition Navy vessels were damaged in the attack and there were also no reports by commercial ships of damage," CENTCOM said in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday, CENTCOM said the military was responding to a large-scale attack on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (0100-0330 GMT).

The UAVs were intended to present "an imminent threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the region", it said in a post on social media platform X.

A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing towards naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said.

"This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area," it said.

France has a warship in the area as well as warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates.

DRONE ATTACK

Britain's Ministry of Defence said its warship HMS Richmond had joined international allies in repelling a Houthi drone attack overnight, saying no injuries or damage were sustained.

"Last night, HMS Richmond used its Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot down two attack drones - successfully repelling yet another illegal attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis," defence minister Grant Shapps said on X.

"The UK and our allies will continue to take the action necessary to save lives and protect freedom of navigation."

On Wednesday three seafarers were killed in a missile strike by the Houthis on the Greek-operated True Confidence, the first civilian casualties since the group started its attacks on the key shipping route.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed there had been an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune.

It said the shipping company reported two explosions in close vicinity of the bulk carrier, but all crew on board were safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.

"Based on sources, Propel Fortune was likely targeted due to outdated U.S. ownership data," UKMTO said in a statement.

Sarea said the Houthis would continue their attacks "until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted".

Houthis escalate Red Sea attacks; target Singapore-flagged commercial vessel

The Pentagon says U.S. Navy ships on patrol in the Red Sea on Friday conducted a 'self-defense' strike against two truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. 

Houthis rebels in Yemen claimed on Saturday to have attacked a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel and U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea as their assaults against maritime traffic escalated.

The Houthis fired "several suitable naval missiles" against the M/V Propel Fortune as well as launching 37 drones targeting several U.S. Navy destroyers in a separate action, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed the rebels fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Propel Fortune but did not strike the ship, while adding in a update that its forces launched defensive strikes against two truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.

The Propel Fortune is a Singapore-flagged vessel that is owned and operated by Singapore entities. It was located about 50 nautical miles southeast of Aden when attacked.

It was built in Japan in 2012 and formerly was a U.S.-flagged vessel named Trans Oceanic before its recent transfer to the current owner and operator in Singapore.

The attacks were done in separate operations by the Houthi militants and "successfully achieved their goals," Saree said, adding that the drones "successfully hit" targeted U.S. Navy destroyers.

Later on Saturday CENTCOM announced it had shot down a total of 28 Houthi drones during a "large-scale attack" launched by the Houthis against targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from 4 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. Sanaa time Friday.

The Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels are in support of Hamas in Gaza and will continue, Saree said during a weekly rally held Friday in Sanaa, Yemen.

The attacks are escalating, and more than 100 have been reported targeting commercial and naval shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, The Maritime Executive reported.

Royal Navy shoots down drones to help foil ‘large-scale’ Houthi attack

The British Navy helped foil a major Houthi attack in the Red Sea, working with the US and other international allies to shoot down more than a dozen attacking drones.

“Overnight, Royal Navy Frigate HMS Richmond and international allies fully repelled a Houthi drone attack, with no injuries or damage sustained,” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday in a post on social media platform X.

More than 15 drones were shot down by HMS Richmond, US navy vessels and aircraft, and other anti-Houthi coalition members following a “large-scale” attack that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region”, according to the US Central Command (Centcom).

The assault, aimed at commercial and military ships, was one of the largest to date by the Iran-backed militia.

“The crew of HMS Richmond acted in an exemplary manner, shooting down two drones using Sea Ceptor missiles,” an MoD spokesperson said.

“We are unwavering in our position that we will take the action necessary to protect innocent lives and the global economy.”

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate operations.

The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an “American” ship.

Vessel-tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged, but did not report its current position.

A second operation fired “37 drones” at “a number of American” warships, Saree said.

It was one of the Houthis’ largest attacks since they began in November a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea area, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 per cent of global trade.

The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The government of the Philippines said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence.

On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the UK-owned Rubymar went down in the Red Sea days after being hit by a missile.

Since January, the US and Britain have launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to target merchant vessels.

Yemen’s rebels control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite an earlier bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015 and which continued for years.

On Jan 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time.

Saturday’s attack comes as maritime experts have warned that a mysterious Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Aden could be helping the Houthi rebels to target commercial shipping.

The Behshad, which has the outward appearance of a bulk carrier ship, moved to the Gulf of Aden in January from the Red Sea. It has taken an unusual course, slowly meandering around the waters near the entrance to the Red Sea for the past few months.

There was a dip in Houthi attacks last month after a reported cyber attack on the Behshad, and after it left the waterway, sitting off the coast of Djibouti from Feb 2 to 19.

Ship-tracking data shows there was a surge in attacks after the vessel returned to the Gulf of Aden.