Yemen's Houthis leader: Any U.S. attack would not go without a response

DUBAI: Any U.S. attack on Yemen's Houthis will not go without a response, the group's leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said on Thursday in a televised speech.

He said any such response would be bigger than the recent strike in which its drones and missiles targeted a U.S. ship in the Red Sea.

"Any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with twenty drones and a number of missiles," he said.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel's war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

"We are more determined to target ships linked to Israel, and we will not back down from that," al-Houthi said.