Four crew members of a US military refuelling aircraft have been confirmed dead after it crashed in western Iraq, according to US Central Command (Centcom).
The incident occurred around 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, Centcom said, and rescue efforts are ongoing. The aircraft, a Boeing-manufactured KC-135 Stratotanker, was involved in ongoing US operations against Iran.
The US military command unit stated that the circumstances of the crash were under investigation and that the identities of the personnel who had been killed were being withheld for 24 hours to notify their next of kin.
Incident Details
The KC-135 usually has a crew of at least a pilot, a co-pilot, and a boom operator responsible for controlling the refuelling arm of the aircraft. The tanker had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran and was one of two aircraft involved in the incident.
The second aircraft landed safely. Centcom earlier described the crash as happening over friendly airspace, but this is a region of Iraq where pro-Iranian militias operate.
Investigation and Response
Iran's military claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile. The US military has now lost at least four aircraft during the current war, including three F-15s shot down earlier this month in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait.
According to the BBC, the US-Israel war with Iran, which began a fortnight ago, has resulted in an official US military death toll of 11. The US military command unit is investigating the circumstances of the crash.
