ALBAWABA - On Sunday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said the group destroyed a U.S. F-18 fighter aircraft during an operation against American and British bombings over Yemen late Saturday.
Saree further said that Houthi troops had prevented an intended U.S.-British attack on Yemen and that they had targeted the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its auxiliary ships.
Saree said the organization will oppose “reckless actions” by the U.S. and Britain and warned against future attacks on Yemeni soil.
The U.S. military acknowledged that an F/A-18 Hornet fighter plane was unintentionally shot down over the Red Sea during a mission. According to the U.S. statement, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg erroneously fired on the aircraft. Both pilots ejected safely.
The incident occurred during U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) attacks on a missile storage site and a Houthi command-and-control center in Sana'a. CENTCOM said the strikes targeted Houthi assaults on American and commercial ships in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden to impede their activities.
Israeli authorities acknowledged they may coordinate military action in Yemen with other states. On Saturday, a Yemeni ballistic missile hit Tel Aviv, wounding 30 persons and damaging property. An Israeli Air Force inquiry blamed a missile interceptor system failure for its hit.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have upped their assaults on Israeli targets in solidarity with Gaza, which has endured Israeli military operations since October 7, 2023. Over 153,000 Palestinians died in these operations. Houthi assaults against Israeli ships and Tel Aviv are part of their demand to cease Israel's “genocide” in Gaza.
Yemen has become a flashpoint for US-UK-Israel-Houthi geopolitical tensions. Both sides continue to warn and threaten as military confrontations escalate on numerous fronts.
