A US Navy ship mistakenly shot down an American fighter jet over the Red Sea early on Sunday, the US military said, highlighting the potential risks for international forces as they try to stop attacks on cargo ships by the Houthi militia in Yemen.

The US military’s Central Command described the incident as an apparent case of friendly fire and said that the two pilots had been safely recovered after ejecting from their F/A-18 aircraft. One had minor injuries, it said in a statement, adding that an investigation was under way.

The jet had flown off the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman when it was mistakenly fired upon by the guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg, Central Command said.

Both ships are in the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group. The US military said on December 15 that the group had been deployed to its area of responsibility, which includes Yemen and the surrounding waters. It did not specify where the group was located.

The apparent incident of friendly fire came after Central Command said on Saturday that it had conducted airstrikes against a Houthi missile storage facility and a command facility in Sana, the capital of Yemen. It said it had also shot down multiple Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-ship cruise missiles over the Red Sea. These operations included F/A-18s, the command said.

The Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, controls much of northwestern Yemen and has been striking ships with missiles and drones for over a year in what it has described as a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

New York Times News Service