Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down overnight on Saturday by friendly fire while American forces were conducting strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
One of the pilots sustained minor injuries during the incident over the Red Sea.
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The incident came as U.S. forces conducted precision airstrikes against Houthi missile storage and command-and-control facilities in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.
“CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden,” according to CENTCOM.
“During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea. The operation involved U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets, including F/A-18s.
“The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping,” CENTCOMM said.
CENTCOM Conducts Airstrikes Against Iran-Backed Houthi Missile Storage and Command/Control Facilities in Yemen
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 21, 2024
TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by… pic.twitter.com/YRWWQJIweP
Last week, American forces carried out an airstrike against a Houthi command-and-control center in Yemen.
Overnight Friday, 16 Israelis were lightly wounded when a ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen struck a residential area in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa neighborhood at 3:44 a.m.
Two days earlier, the Israeli Air Force struck terror targets in Yemen before dawn on Thursday, after a Houthi missile hit an elementary school in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.
