U.S. Central Command said Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three U.S. F-15 fighter jets during active combat on Monday, describing the incident as apparent friendly fire linked to the ongoing conflict with Iran. It added that all six crew members ejected safely, were recovered and are in stable condition.
CENTCOM said the shootdowns occurred during combat that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, and that Kuwait’s air defenses brought down the U.S. jets by mistake. It said Kuwait acknowledged the incident and that an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances.
Video footage showed a U.S. warplane falling from the sky over Kuwait early Monday, with a person seen parachuting. Reuters said it verified the location of the footage as the Al Jahra area.
In a separate incident, a witness told Reuters that smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait City, with fire trucks and ambulances in the area. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy or the U.S. State Department on the embassy incident.
Reuters also reported that Kuwait intercepted hostile drones earlier on Monday, marking the third consecutive day of Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighboring Gulf states in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Separately, Kuwait’s National Petroleum Company said two workers were slightly injured by falling debris at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait warned U.S. citizens of a continuing threat of missile and drone attacks over the country, urged citizens not to come to the embassy, and advised people to shelter in place, remain on the lowest floor away from windows and not go outside.
In closing, a war affairs expert who spoke to +ontime ruled out the likelihood that Iran directly caused the downing of any of the aircraft.
