(CNN) — Two US Navy pilots ejected safely after their fighter jet was shot down over the Crimson Sea on Saturday in an obvious pleasant fireplace incident, US Central Command stated in a press release.
The pilots have been recovered, and one of many crew members sustained minor accidents, based on preliminary assessments.
The plane, an F/A-18, was working from the USS Harry S. Truman when it was “mistakenly fired” upon by the USS Gettysburg, CENTCOM stated. The USS Gettysburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, is a part of the Truman provider strike group, which entered the waters of the Center East one week in the past.
A full investigation is underway. CENTCOM confused the incident was not the results of hostile fireplace.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed in a press release Sunday that they shot down an F/A-18 plane over the Crimson Sea and focused the USS Harry Truman plane provider. The Houthis stated their strikes have been in response to American and British forces attacking their drones and missiles. The group has repeatedly made false claims of placing US warships working within the Crimson Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The US has maintained a near-constant presence of main Navy warships within the area for the reason that begin of the warfare in Gaza, because the Houthis have focused ships within the Crimson Sea, one of many world’s busiest waterways, calling the assaults a response to Israel’s warfare towards Hamas.
The obvious pleasant fireplace incident comes the identical day the US carried out airstrikes towards Houthi targets in Yemen, hitting a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility within the capital of Sana’a. The US additionally shot down one-way assault drones and an anti-ship cruise missile, based on CENTCOM.
The strikes on the Iran-backed insurgent group concerned the usage of Navy F/A-18 fighter jets, in addition to US Air Power property, CENTCOM stated.
In accordance with two US navy officers, the downed fighter jet was not a part of the strikes in Yemen.
The Houthis, who management Yemen’s most populous areas, say they received’t cease placing Israel and its allies till a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
The F/A-18 incident additionally got here the identical day Houthi forces in Yemen stated they fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at an Israeli navy goal in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa space. The missile fired from Yemen hit Tel Aviv in a single day into Saturday, Israeli authorities stated, in a uncommon occasion of a failed interception over the town.
Greater than a dozen folks sustained minor accidents, based on emergency companies, however no fatalities have been reported.
This story has been up to date with further reporting.
CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey, Lauren Izso, Edward Szekeres and Kareem El Damanhoury contributed to this report.
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