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Kuwait shoots down US jets in friendly-fire incident, US CENTCOM says
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's air defenses mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets during active combat on Monday, US Central Command said on Monday, describing it as an apparent friendly-fire incident during the conflict with Iran.
All six crew members ejected from the aircraft safely, were recovered and are in stable condition, CENTCOM said.
The incident is the first downing of US aircraft since the US-Israeli war against Iran began on Saturday and underscores how rapidly the conflict is widening across the Gulf.
"During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones - the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," CENTCOM said.
It said that Kuwait had acknowledged the incident and that an investigation into the cause was underway.
Video images showed a US warplane falling out of the sky over Kuwait early on Monday, while a person could be seen parachuting. The location was verified by Reuters as filmed in the Al Jahra area of Kuwait.
Reuters/Ipsos polling over the weekend showed just one-in-four Americans support US strikes on Iran, with respondents concerned in part about harm to US troops. Trump on Sunday warned of more US casualties as strikes continue, which analysts say could further erode American support for the war.
Smoke at US Embassy
In a separate incident, smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the US Embassy compound in Kuwait City, and fire trucks and ambulances were in the area, a witness told Reuters.
There were no responses to requests for comment on the embassy incident from the US Embassy in Kuwait, or from the US State Department.
Kuwait intercepted hostile drones earlier on Monday, the third consecutive day of Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighboring Gulf states in response to US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Iran's state media earlier cited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying Iranian armed forces hit a US plane that crashed in Kuwait.
Falling debris injures workers
Two workers were slightly injured by falling debris at Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Kuwait's National Petroleum Company said on X.
The US Embassy in Kuwait warned US citizens that there was a continuing threat of missile and drone attacks over the country and urged citizens not to come to the embassy. It advised people to shelter in place, remain on the lowest floor of their residence away from windows and not go outside.
No injuries were reported after Kuwait air defenses intercepted the majority of the drones near Rumaithiya and Salwa neighborhoods, the state news agency cited the director-general of the civil defense as saying.
Loud bangs and sirens were heard throughout the morning in Kuwait, according to Reuters witnesses. A series of loud blasts was heard on Monday morning in Dubai and the Qatari capital of Doha, according to Reuters witnesses.
Tehran said it would target US bases in the region after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran 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. — Reuters
