Three US military jets were shot down by Kuwaiti defences in an "apparent friendly fire" incident on Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, adding that all crew members were safely recovered.
Issued on: 02/03/2026 - 12:52Modified: 02/03/2026 - 12:53
The three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets "were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences" during "active combat", CENTCOM said in a statement.
"All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition," it added.
A Kuwait defence ministry statement carried by the state news agency said the crews from the crashed aircraft were evacuated and transferred to hospital and were in stable condition. It added that the response was carried out in coordination with US forces.
Kuwait intercepted hostile drones earlier on Monday, the third consecutive day of Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states in response to joint US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Blasts also rang out Monday over the Gulf cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Manama as Iran targeted US Gulf allies after the killing of its supreme leader.
The Iranian attacks have so far killed five people in the Gulf, according to authorities, including one person in Kuwait. The small, oil-rich country has a large US military presence stemming from the 1990 Iraqi invasion, which was repelled by a US-led coalition aiding the Kuwaiti army.
Smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the US embassy compound in Kuwait City, with a witness telling Reuters that fire trucks and ambulances were seen in the area.
The embassy urged US citizens to remain indoors, shelter in place and avoid coming to the embassy, warning of the "continuing threat of missile and UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks over Kuwait".
"Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows," it said on its website.
Online video verified by Reuters as being taken in the Al Jahra area of Kuwait showed a military aircraft falling from the sky and a person parachuting in the same shot.
Iran’s state media cited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying Iranian armed forces hit a US plane that crashed in Kuwait.
Tehran had said it would target US bases in the region after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran early on Saturday. It has also hit a range of civilian and commercial areas across Gulf cities, widening the conflict’s impact on key regional aviation and trade hubs and closing down airspace in several regional hubs
Two workers were slightly injured by falling debris at Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Kuwait’s National Petroleum Company said on X.
No injuries were reported after air defences intercepted the majority of the drones launched near the Rumaithiya and Salwa neighbourhoods, according to Kuwait’s director-general of civil defence, cited by the state news agency.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
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