A US Navy plane was shot down over the Red Sea, most likely as a result of “fratricidal fire”. This forced the two pilots to eject, the Associated Press reported.
“The cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired at an American F/A-18 fighter,” the US military said, according to AP.
Both pilots were found alive and one of them suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident. The US agency called the incident “the most serious threat to US troops since the Houthi rebels began shelling Yemen.”
“This incident draws attention to how dangerous the Red Sea region has become due to attacks by Yemeni rebels on ships.”
FA-18 Super HornetShutterstock
Attack on military facilities in the capital of Yemen
On Saturday, American planes carried out precise attacks on military facilities in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, belonging to the Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran.
According to the US Central Command in the Middle East (CENTCOM), the targets of the attack were a missile depot and a command post of the rebel forces, from where the firing of US warships and merchant ships in the Red Sea was coordinated. There was no information about the consequences of the attack.
US forces also destroyed several combat drones and an anti-ship missile in the Red Sea.
After the escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip in the fall of 2023, the Houthis began attacking ships passing through the Red Sea and Israeli territory, declaring that these were acts of solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas.
Main image source: Shutterstock
