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 Iran-backed group launched drones, fired missiles at two US warships in an hours-long attack, the Pentagon says.

For more than a year, U.S. warships have shot down Houthi drones and missiles, but the rebels continue to menace shipping in the Red Sea.