US fighter jets crash in Kuwait

Kuwait's defence ministry says "several" US military aircraft crashed this morning inside the country.

It says the crews of the jets "survived unscathed" and are in "stable" conditions after being evacuated and transferred to hospitals.

The ministry says it is continuing investigations into the causes of the incident.

 “Relevant authorities immediately initiated search-and-rescue operations,” Kuwait’s defense ministry spokesperson Col. Said Al-Atwan said in the statement.

“The crews were evacuating from the crash sites and transferred to hospital to assess their condition and provided necessary medical care,” he said, adding that they are in a “stable” condition.

Al-Atwan said Kuwait was in “direct coordination” with US authorities. 

 Three US soldiers have been killed and five more injured since America and Israel invade Iran on Saturday morning.

Donald Trump vowed to avenge their deaths but warned there would probably be more casualties before the war ends.

The conflict expanded on Monday after Israel attacked Lebanon. That was in response to Hezbollah launching strikes in revenge for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The crashes come during heavy bombardment on Gulf nations as part of an expanding war with Iran. It also comes as smoke has been seen over the area surrounding the US Embassy in Kuwait.

It is notable when US fighter jets crash overseas and often triggers an investigation.

In 2024, a US ship “mistakenly fired” upon a F/A-18 operating from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea. The incident was investigated, and the two Navy pilots ejected safely.

The US military has a significant number of military assets in the region, deployed in the weeks leading up to the joint US-Israeli military operation that kicked off early Saturday morning Eastern Time. A list put out by CENTCOM on Sunday showing the assets employed thus far included F-18s, F-16s, F-22s, F-35s, A-10 attack aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, refueling aircraft, counter-drone systems, Navy aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers.

More than 1,000 targets have been struck, the CENTCOM release on Sunday said, adding that the military is focusing on military targets like command and control centers, Iranian Navy ships and submarines, Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps headquarters and more.