US war planes crash during Iranian missile attack

Several U.S. warplanes crashed on Monday morning, and all crew members survived, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

The ministry’s official military spokesperson said the crash occurred earlier in the day, without specifying the location or the number of aircraft involved.

Before the ministry’s statement, a US fighter jet was confirmed to have crashed in Kuwait during an Iranian missile attack on an American air base.

Video footage shows a US F-15E Strike Eagle spiralling downwards as flames engulf its engine six miles from the US Ali Al Salem base.

The fighter pilot appears to have ejected and landed safely, later being assisted by locals. The status of the weapons system operator is unknown.

It is not known whether the jet was shot down by an Iranian missile, hit by friendly US air defence rockets or suffered a technical malfunction.

It comes after the first US casualties of the war were confirmed on Sunday. Three soldiers have been killed and five more injured since operations started on Saturday morning.

Donald Trump vowed to avenge their deaths but warned there would likely be more casualties before the joint US-Israel war comes to an end.

The war expanded on Monday after Israel attacked Lebanon in response to Hezbollah firing retaliatory strikes over the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. (The Telegraph UK)