Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military said on Sunday. Both pilots were found alive, one of them having been slightly injured during the incident.
The incident occurred as the US military carried out airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels backed by Iranalthough U.S. Army Central Command did not specify what its mission was at the time.
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, fired in error and hit the F/A-18, which was taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman,” the central command said in a statement. a declaration.
It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, especially since ships in a battle group remain linked by radar and radio communications.
Earlier Saturday, CENTCOM reported carrying out precision airstrikes in Houthi-controlled territory in Sanaa, Yemen, against a missile storage facility and a command and control facility.
The strikes were carried out in response to the Houthi attacks on U.S. Navy warships and commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab Strait, CENTCOM said.
During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down several Houthi attack drones, as well as an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.
Early Saturday morning, a rocket from Yemen struck an area of Tel Aviv, injuring at least 16 people. The Houthis released a statement on Telegram saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
Since Truman’s arrival, the United States has intensified its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and its missile attacks on the Red Sea and its surrounding areas. However, the presence of a group of American warships could trigger further attacks from the rebels, as what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. This deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.
Houthi-controlled media reported US strikes in Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida on Saturday, without providing information on casualties or damage. In Sanaa, the strikes appeared particularly targeted on a mountainside known to host military installations. The Houthis did not acknowledge that the plane was shot down in the Red Sea.
The Houthis having targeted around 100 merchant ships equipped with missiles and drones in solidarity with the militant group Hamas since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023.
Houthis seize ship and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea, or failed to achieve their objectives, which also included Western military vessels.
The rebels say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom to force an end to the Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis are also increasingly targeting Israel itself with drones and missiles, prompting Israeli airstrikes in retaliation.
