“During active combat, which included attacks by Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones, the US Air Force fighters were mistakenly targeted by Kuwaiti air defenses,” a Centcom statement said.

According to the statement, all six pilots ejected safely, were recovered, and are in stable condition.

Kuwait admitted the incident, which is under investigation, the Central Command statement noted.

These are the first fighter jets lost by the Pentagon since the start of its joint offensive with Israel against Iran.

In another statement, Centcom admitted the first three fatalities among its ranks and detailed that five other soldiers suffered serious injuries.

jdt/arm/mem/rob