A US F-35 fighter jet flying a combat mission over Iran was forced to make an emergency landing after being struck by suspected Iranian fire, according to US sources

A US F-35 fighter jet has made an emergency landing after being struck by suspected Iranian fire, US sources have said.

Capt Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, confirmed to CNN that the fifth-generation stealth jet was "flying a combat mission over Iran" when it was forced to make an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East.

"The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition," Capt Hawkins added. "This incident is under investigation."

CNN reports that two US sources familiar with the matter said the aircraft, which costs more than $100 million, was hit by what is believed to have been Iranian fire. The sources were not named.

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If confirmed, it would be the first known US jet to be hit by Iranian fire since the start of the conflict.

It comes after three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire on March 2 during an Iranian air assault, the US military said. All six crew members ejected safely from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered.

Thirteen American service members have been killed in the US-Israeli war on Iran. Six members of a US Army Reserve unit were killed in a strike in Kuwait on March 1. Another service member, who was injured in an attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 1, died from his injuries seven days later.

A further six US service members aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft were killed in a crash in western Iraq on March 12. The US military said the incident was "not due to hostile fire or friendly fire" and that its cause is under investigation.