LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond had shot down a missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen targeting a merchant vessel.

"The UK continues to be at the forefront of the international response to the Iranian-backed Houthis' dangerous attacks on commercial vessels, which have claimed the lives of international mariners," British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)