Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted two U.S. Navy warships with multiple drones and missiles as they were traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but the attacks were not successful, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

The attack on the ships was the latest in months of violence in the region by the Yemen rebels, who are backed by Iran and have targeted commercial shipping as well as the U.S. naval forces deployed to the region.

The US military carried out a series of airstrikes on Houthi weapons warehouses in Yemen. The operation was conducted in response to terrorist attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, reports the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).