The Pentagon says the five armed assailants captured by U.S. forces after seizing a commercial ship near Yemen over the weekend were likely Somali and not Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The USS Carney shot down at least three Houthi drones headed in the ship’s direction in the southern Red Sea on Sunday and responded to a distress call from a civilian commercial vessel that was fired upon by a ballistic missile,

LONDON (Reuters) - War risk insurance premiums edged up for Red Sea voyages after three vessels were attacked in the area on Sunday and fears grow over worsening perils for commercial shipping, maritime and insurance sources said on Monday.

Yemen's Houthis have stepped up their role in the conflict in the Middle East, targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea in attacks the Iran-aligned group says aim to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed they targeted “two Israeli ships” in the Red Sea, part of a series of attacks against commercial vessels in international waters on Sunday during which the US said one of its destroyers shot down three drones.

"We're aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available," the Pentagon told Newsweek. The news was first reported by the Associated Press.

Commercial ships came under attack Sunday by drones and missiles in the Red Sea and a U.S. warship there opened fire in self-defense as part of an hourslong assault claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said.

The Pentagon says an American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked