USS gettysburg A guided-missile cruiser accidentally shot down an American fighter jet early Sunday morning in what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) called an “apparent cross-fire incident.”
Two Navy F-18 pilots were able to safely eject over the Red Sea, CENTCOM said.
“Both pilots were recovered safely. Preliminary assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries. This incident was not due to hostile gunfire and An investigation is underway,” CENTCOM said in a statement on Sunday.
CENTCOM said USS gettysburg Part of the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and F-18s were taking off from the actual USS Harry S. Truman carrier.
CENTCOM did not provide details about how or why it happened.
The Truman Carrier Strike Group is in the Red Sea as the United States participates in various Middle East missions.
One of its missions is to protect U.S. and international shipping transiting the region from missile and drone attacks from Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis. Another US mission is to assist Israel in preventing the war against Hamas from escalating and requiring the evacuation of Americans in the region.
Central Command suggested to The Associated Press that the sailors were given “just a few seconds” to make a decision due to hostile shelling from the Houthis.
On Saturday and Sunday evening, US warplanes bombed Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Centcom said the attack targeted a missile facility.
Houthi spokesman Brig.-Gen. Gen. Yahya Salih claimed in a prerecorded statement hours later that the Houthis had fired eight drones and 17 cruise missiles in the attack, shooting down an F-18.
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