Iran war: Three US fighter jets downed in Kuwait
Three American fighter were downed in Kuwait on Monday amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The US military said the F-15 aircraft went down “due to an apparent friendly fire incident”.
Iran, however, claimed it had shot down the jets near the Kuwaiti border.
Middle East Eye could not independently verify either account.
According to the US, the aircraft were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences” during active combat, which included “attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones”.
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The Kuwaiti defence ministry said all six crewmembers ejected safely and that it is coordinating with US forces to determine the circumstances of the incident.
Authorities also launched search and rescue operations, evacuated the crews, and transferred them to hospital, where all are reported to be in stable condition.
A video, geolocated near Al Jahra, Kuwait, along Highway 70, about 4.5 miles from the crash site, showed one of the pilots descending with his parachute.
The F-15 is a US-developed fighter jet widely used by air forces around the world for air superiority and strike missions.
Footage circulating online shows a US fighter jet crashing in Kuwait.
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Details about the incident remain limited, and officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the crash.
The pilot seems to have ejected safely and was seen parachuting to the ground before being put into the… pic.twitter.com/Q5ftYDFyFR
Earlier today, Kuwait News Agency, citing a military official, reported that the nation's air defences intercepted several "hostile" drones approaching the capital.
Brigadier General Mohammad al-Mansouri said Kuwait Air Defence Force personnel neutralised a "majority" of the drones as they approached the areas of Salwa and Hawally, in the vicinity of Kuwait City, Kuwait News Agency reported.
The drones were not attributed to any country.
The crashes come amid ongoing US and Israeli strikes in Iran that have sparked regional tensions.
Iran has launched hundreds retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel and what it calls US assets in Arab states.
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