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 suffered minor injuries.
The incident occurred during airstrikes by the American military Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebelsalthough US Central Command did not specify what their mission was at the time.
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, mistakenly fired at and hit an F/A-18 flying from the USS Harry S. Truman,” Central Command said. statement.
Earlier Saturday, CENTCOM said it carried out high-precision airstrikes in Houthi-held territory in Sana'a, Yemen, targeting a missile cache and command and control facility.
The strikes were held in response to the continuation Houthi attacks on U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down several Houthi attack drones as well as an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, the agency said.
Early Saturday morning, rocket dismissed from Yemen At least 16 people were injured in the strike in the Tel Aviv area. The Houthis issued a statement on Telegram saying they had fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target they did not identify.