Britain says a Royal Navy ship has shot down an attack drone over the Red Sea

LONDON (AP) — Britain says a Royal Navy warship has shot down a suspected attack drone targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping.” It’s the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War. Shapps said a spate of attacks on commercial ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.” On Friday Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, told all its vessels planning to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to “pause their journey until further notice.”