An American military aircraft crashed after experiencing a “mishap” during training in the eastern Mediterranean, according to a statement from the US European Command (EUCOM) on Saturday.
The specific type of aircraft and its origin were not disclosed in the statement. It’s worth noting that the United States had deployed a carrier strike group to the region as part of efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from escalating into a wider regional crisis.
“On the evening of November 10, a US military aircraft conducting training operations in the eastern Mediterranean suffered a mishap and went down,” EUCOM said in a statement that did not provide information on the fate of the crew.
“We can definitively say that the aircraft sortie was purely related to training and there are no indications of hostile activity,” the statement said, adding: “The cause of the training incident is currently under investigation.”
Following a cross-border attack by Hamas from Gaza on October 7, which Israeli officials claim resulted in approximately 1,200 casualties, the United States swiftly provided military support to Israel. This support included the deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and additional warships to reinforce the U.S. presence in the region.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel launched a comprehensive air, land, and naval offensive on Gaza. The territory’s health ministry reported a tragic toll, stating that over 11,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict.—AP
