Aden, Dec 23 (IANS ) Yemen's Houthi group said it attacked a US aircraft carrier with eight cruise missiles and 17 drones and downed a US fighter jet.
The group successfully struck aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its escorts, thwarting the joint US-British attack on Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement, aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
"Our forces shot down an American F/A-18 fighter jet during the operation as it attempted to intercept our missiles and drones," Sarea added.
Earlier on Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that two US Navy pilots ejected safely after their fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident, Xinhua news agency reported.
"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," CENTCOM said.
The incident came the same day US forces conducted airstrikes on a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility reportedly operated by the Houthis within Sanaa, and shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, according to a separate statement by CENTCOM.
Earlier the US-British navy coalition launched a new airstrike on a Houthi site in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, the local media reported.
The strike targeted the site in Hodeidah's Al-Luhayyah area, according to media reports, which did not provide further details or report any casualties.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out rocket and drone attacks on Israeli cities and disrupting "Israeli-linked" shipping in the Red Sea.
In response, the US-led navy coalition stationed in the area has been conducting regular air raids on Houthi targets since January in a bid to deter the armed group.
Last week, the Houthi military authorities announced that the US and British aircraft have conducted "a new aggression" against targets in Hodeida, a strategic province in western Yemen along the Red Sea coast.
According to the report, the allied forces targeted the At-Tuhayta district in the southern part of Hodeidah, though specific details about the aerial bombardment were not immediately disclosed.
Courtesy Media Group: IANS