Footage allegedly showing a U.S. fighter pilot in the trunk of a Kuwaiti car has circulated widely online, after three American jets were brought down by friendly fire.
The incident occurred as President Donald Trump’s so-called Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East intensified with ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and Tehran’s own counterstrikes against rivals in the region.
U.S. Central Command said the incident occurred in “an apparent friendly fire incident,” but that ”All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition."
“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,” Central Command said.
Kuwait authorities said early Monday that “several” aircraft, thought to be F-15E Strike Eagles, had been shot down over its territory but that no pilots had died.
Various clips have since surfaced online, including one showing a man in a flight suit lying in the trunk of a black car as several men talk around him. It has been widely shared by open-source intelligence accounts on X.
CNN reported it had geolocated additional footage of pilots on the ground in Kuwait.
In one clip, a man in a flight suit is seen next to a parachute. CNN reported that the footage is from around 18.5 miles from Ali Al Salem Air Base, which has a history of hosting U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps personnel and aircraft.
In a translation of that clip by the network, people can be heard saying, “The American aircraft was shot down by their own missile. We came here thinking it was an Iranian jet. It turned out to be American. Come on, guys, get in the car. Let’s go.”
Another image shows a man in a flight suit in a trunk with what appear to be injuries to his left hand. In that image, a helmet can also be seen, which appears to match the livery of those worn by the USAF’s 335th Fighter Squadron based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. It is not clear if all the photos featuring a car trunk are of the same pilot.
A separate clip, also geolocated by CNN, shows a jet, believed to be an F-15E, in a tailspin.
The Telegraph reported that the incident occurred six miles from Ali Al Salem.
A spokesperson for Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense, Col. Said Al-Atwan, said in a statement on X, “several U.S. military aircraft crashed this morning,” but that Kuwait was “confirming the complete safety of their crews.”
“Relevant authorities immediately initiated search-and-rescue operations, whereby the crews were evacuated and transferred to the hospital to check on their health status and provide the necessary medical care, noting that their condition is stable.”
He added that, “authorities are following up on the investigations to determine the causes of the incident, calling for information to be obtained from its official sources.”
So far, the death toll from Iran stands at 555 people. U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X on Monday that four military personnel had been killed. No public identification has been made at the time of writing.
Many woke to fresh attacks on Monday morning, with reports of explosions coming in from the UAE, Bahrain, Israel, and Qatar, among other nations in the region. Black smoke was also seen rising near the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait.
An Iranian strike targeted the area shortly after the Trump administration warned Americans there to seek shelter. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
The Israeli military also announced a fresh round of strikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran.
“The Israeli Air Force, guided by Military Intelligence, has now launched a broad wave of strikes targeting assets of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran,” the military said in a statement.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Kuwait authorities and U.S. Central Command for more information.
