US military officials said three fighter jets crashed in Kuwait after being hit by friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defenses, the first downing of US aircraft since the US-Israeli war against Iran began over the weekend.

All six of the crew from the three F-15 jets ejected and parachuted to the ground before being located by rescuers, US Central Commandsaidin a statement on March 2.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. local time as the jets were engaged in "active combat that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones."

In an earlier statement,Kuwait's Defense Ministry also reportedthe crash of several jets and said crew members were being recovered and transported to hospitals. The Kuwaiti statement made no mention of friendly fire as the cause of the incident.