Two U.S marine Pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent friendly fire incident, the US said Military This is the most serious incident in which troops have been threatened by US attacks in over a year Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Both pilots were rescued alive after ejecting from their damaged aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underscores how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become as the Iran-backed Houthis continue to launch attacks on ships even as U.S. and European military coalitions patrol the area.
The U.S. military had been conducting airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time of the friendly fire incident, although U.S. military Central Command did not elaborate on the pilots’ mission and did not answer questions from The Associated Press.
The downed F/A-18 had just flown off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, Central Command said. On December 15, Central Command confirmed that the Truman had entered the Middle East, but had not indicated 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, accidentally fired at and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
According to the military’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 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg could have mistaken an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, especially since ships in a battle group remain connected to each other through both radar and radio communications.
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However, Central Command said warships and aircraft had previously shot down several Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile fired by the rebels. Hostile fire by the Houthis in the past gave sailors only seconds to make decisions.
Since Truman’s arrival, the US has increased its airstrikes against the Houthis and rocket fire in and around the Red Sea. However, the presence of an American warship group could lead to renewed rebel attacks, such as what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. This deployment marked what the Navy referred to as It was the most intense fighting since World War II.
On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes carried out airstrikes that rocked Sanaa, Yemen’s capital held by the Houthis since 2014. Central Command described the attacks as targeting a “missile depot” and a “command and control facility.” ” without going into more detail.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes both in Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without reporting casualties or damage. In Sanaa, the attacks appeared to be particularly targeted at a mountainside known to host military facilities. However, no images or information about the attacks were released – something that had happened before when airstrikes hit vital rebel facilities.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, released a recorded statement hours later claiming the rebels had fired eight drones and 17 cruise missiles in their attack. He also claimed, without providing evidence, that the Houthis shot down the F/A-18, likely along the lines of his exaggerated claims. During the Eisenhower’s deployment, he repeatedly falsely claimed that the carrier had been hit by Houthi fire.
The Houthis have attacked about 100 commercial vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October 2023, following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
Israel’s grueling offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The count does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis have seized a ship And two sunk in one campaign Four sailors also died. Other missiles and drones were either intercepted by various U.S. and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which included Western military ships.
The rebels claim they are targeting ships with ties to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s 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 have also increasingly attacked Israel itself with drones and missiles, leading to this Retaliation against Israeli airstrikes.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would act “vigorously” against the Houthis, as it has done against other allies of Iran, “only in this case we are not acting alone.”
&Copy 2024 The Canadian Press
