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Three US F-15E Strike Eagle jets were shot down by Kuwait in a friendly-fire incident today. No deaths have been reported.
A statement from U.S. Central Command said, “At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident.”
“During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones—the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.”
All six crew members in the planes were able to eject safely and parachute to the ground, where they were recovered. They are in “stable” condition in hospital.
Footage posted to social media showed two jets crashing, as well as the pilots on the ground. At least one pilot was thought by locals to be a hostile before his nationality was confirmed.
Kuwait is home to a US Air Force base (Ali Al Salem) and the headquarters of US Army Central.
As Iran widened its retaliation to other nations in the region besides Israel, Kuwait’s government said it had intercepted and destroyed a large number of Iranian drones.
In the early hours of Monday, an Iranian drone hit a British military base in Cyprus.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said the attack on RAF Akrotiri occurred at around midnight local time and did not result in any casualties.
A Cypriot government spokesperson said the attack caused “little damage.”
RAF Akrotiri is the main British airbase for operations in the Middle East. It is also classed as sovereign British territory.
Hours before the attack, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his government had given permission for the US to use British bases in the region to attack Iranian targets.
“The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” Starmer said.
“We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region.”
Starmer said the decision was made in light of Iran’s attacks against countries in the region that had played no part in Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israel’s military operation against Iran.
As well as launching missile and drone attacks across the region, Iran has activated local proxies, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
An Iraqi Shiite militia backed by Iran has attacked US troops in Baghdad. No casualties are reported.
The group, known as Saraya Awliya al-Dam, is one of a number of Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran and has operated in the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein, in 2003.
