US conducts airstrikes against Houthi targets in Sanaa

The US military said it conducted precision airstrikes on Saturday against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

In a statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden".

It also said it struck multiple Houthi one-way drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

Saturday's strike followed a similar attack last week by US aircraft against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis, which control much of Yemen.

On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.

The group in Yemen has been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year to try to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the US military said it mistakenly shot down one of its own fighter aircraft over the Red Sea early on Sunday, forcing both pilots to eject.

Both were rescued, one with minor injuries, after the "apparent case of friendly fire," which is being investigated, US Central Command said in a statement.

The fighter was an F/A-18 Hornet flying off the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. One of the carrier's escort ships, the missile cruiser Gettysburg, "mistakenly fired on and hit" the plane, the statement said.