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A U.S. military refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq on Thursday while supporting operations connected to the conflict with Iran, according to U.S. Central Command. All six crew members have been confirmed deceased.
The aircraft involved was a KC-135 tanker. Central Command said the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
“U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” U.S. Central Command released in a statement.
A Friday morning statement confirmed that four of the six crew members were killed in the crash.
“At approximately 2 pm ET on March 12, a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire. The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,” the statement read.
A later update on Friday confirmed that all six crew members had died.
The crash marks the fourth publicly reported U.S. aircraft loss during military operations related to the conflict with Iran.
Last week, three American fighter jets were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti forces in a friendly-fire incident.
The Pentagon has said that seven U.S. service members have been killed and about 140 wounded since fighting in the region began.
