U.S. Fighter Jet Shot Down Over Red Sea, Houthis Claim Responsibility While CENTOM Claims It Was ‘Friendly Fire’

A F18 Hornet fighter jet pilot takes off from the deck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 8, 2018.

The U.S. Central Command reported two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in a “friendly fire” incident on Sunday. Both pilots safely ejected the jet, however, one suffered minor injuries.

The two pilots were in an F/A-18 fighter jet apart of the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group, when it was “mistakenly fired on and hit,” by the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg.

It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg mistook the F/A-18 fighter jet for an enemy aircraft, however Central Command added that a “full investigation is underway.”

The friendly fire incident follows after Central Command announced that it had conducted precision airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, reportedly targeting a missile storage facility, along with a command-and-control facility.

The attacks against the Houthis have been an ongoing effort to respond to the Houthi missile attacks against cargo ships, threatening the global supply chain as an estimated 12% of global supplies pass through the Red Sea shipping lanes.

“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks,” stated Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

The Houthis have stated that they are attacking the cargo ships in response to Israel’s “massacres against our brothers in Gaza,” which has claimed the lives of over 45,000 people, a large portion being women and children.

Additionally, the Houthis have come out and attempted to take credit for downing the American fighter jet, carried out with eight cruise missiles and 17 drones which led to “the failure of the hostile attack on Yemeni territory.”

“The American attacks on Yemen are condemned and illegal terrorist attacks that support the terrorism of the temporary Israeli entity to continue the genocide and siege of the people of Gaza,” stated Houthi leather Mohammed al-Houthi.

“The American terrorist attacks confirm the lawless rampage and criminality in the region. The reckless terrorist actions against Yemen do not stop the support operations for Gaza,” he continued.

Al-Houthi added that the United States would not reveal the truth of how the plane was downed “to prevent further collapse of the morale of its soldiers.”

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