Two U.S. Navy pilots had been shot down over the Pink Sea in an obvious “pleasant hearth” incident, the U.S. navy stated Sunday. Each pilots had been recovered alive, with one struggling minor accidents within the incident.
The incident got here because the U.S. navy carried out airstrikes concentrating on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, although the U.S. navy’s Central Command didn’t elaborate on what their mission was on the time.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is a part of the usHarry S. Truman Provider Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the usHarry S. Truman,” Central Command stated in a press release.
It wasn’t instantly clear how the Gettysburg may mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy plane or missile, notably as ships in a battle group stay linked by each radar and radio communication.
Earlier Saturday, CENTCOM reported that it had carried out precision airstrikes in Houthi-controlled territory in Sana’a, Yemen, in opposition to a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility.
The strikes had been carried out in response to the continued Houthi attacks on U.S. Navy warships and industrial vessels within the Southern Pink Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, CENTCOM stated.
In the course of the operation, CENTCOM forces additionally shot down a number of Houthi assault drones, in addition to an anti-ship cruise missile over the Pink Sea.
Early Saturday morning, a rocket fired from Yemen struck an space in Tel Aviv, injuring a minimum of 16 folks. The Houthis issued a press release on Telegram saying that they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a navy goal, which they didn’t determine.
Because the Truman’s arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes concentrating on the Houthis and their missile hearth into the Pink Sea and the encompassing space. Nevertheless, the presence of an American warship group could spark renewed assaults from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this 12 months. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense fight since World Warfare II.
Houthi-controlled media reported U.S. strikes in each Sanaa and across the port metropolis of Hodeida Saturday, with out providing any casualty or harm info. In Sanaa, strikes appeared notably focused at a mountainside recognized to be dwelling to navy installations. The Houthis didn’t acknowledge the plane being shot down within the Pink Sea.
The Houthis have targeted about 100 service provider vessels with missiles and drones in solidarity with the militant group Hamas since the Israel-Hamas war within the Gaza Strip began in October 2023.
The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a marketing campaign that has additionally killed 4 sailors. Different missiles and drones have both been intercepted by separate U.S. and European-led coalitions within the Pink Sea, or failed to achieve their targets, which have additionally included Western navy vessels.
The rebels keep that they aim ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the UK to pressure an finish to Israel’s marketing campaign in opposition to Hamas in Gaza. Nevertheless, lots of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the battle, together with some sure for Iran.
The Houthis even have more and more focused Israel itself with drones and missiles, leading to retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.
