US Warplane Shot Down In Friendly Fire Incident

An American fighter jet has been shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military has said.

Both crew from the US Navy F/A-18 Hornet ejected safely, with one suffering minor injuries, according to Central Command.

The incident came after the US carried out a series of air strikes against a missile storage site and command facilities in the Yemeni capital Sanaa operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

In a statement, US Central Command confirmed a “friendly fire” 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,” the statement said.

It is not clear whether the downed aircraft had been involved in the Yemen operation.

Earlier Central Command said the strikes against targets in Sanaa aimed to “disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden”.

The US military also said it struck “multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea” using “US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s”.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israeli and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

Since November 2023, Houthi missile attacks have sunk two vessels in the Red Sea and damaged others. They have claimed, often falsely, that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma