DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said, marking the incident the most serious threat to troops in more than a year of American targeting. Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken plane, one of them sustaining minor injuries. But the shooting underscores how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become due to continued attacks on shipping by the Iran-backed Houthis, despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the region.
The U.S. military then carried out airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, although U.S. Army Central Command did not specify what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. .
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The downed F/A-18 had just taken off from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, Central Command said. On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that the Truman had entered the Middle East, but did not specify that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired at and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
According to the Army’s description, the downed aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
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.
However, the central command said warships and aircraft shot down several Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. In the past, hostile fire from the Houthis gave sailors only seconds to make decisions.
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 U.S. warships could trigger further attacks from rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. The deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.
On Saturday evening and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes carried out airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the Yemeni capital that the Houthis have controlled since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command and control facility.” » without further details.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without providing information on casualties or damage. In Sanaa, the strikes appeared particularly targeted on a mountainside known to host military installations. The Houthis later admitted that the plane had been shot down in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have targeted around 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. and took 250 others hostage.
Israel’s brutal offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis seized one ship and sank two during a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones were either intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to hit their targets, which also included Western military ships.
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.
