The US Central Command announced that four of six crew members died after a KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq during operations amid the conflict with Iran. Search and investigation efforts into the incident are ongoing.
US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed that a military refueling aircraft, the KC-135 Stratotanker, crashed in Iraq, killing four of the six crew members at the scene. Rescue teams continue efforts to assist any potential survivors.
Centcom stated that the aircraft was one of two planes supporting ongoing military operations against Iran. The second plane landed safely. Initial military findings indicate the crash was not caused by enemy attack or friendly fire.
Although the US military says the incident occurred in allied airspace, the crash site is in an area of Iraq with significant pro-Iranian armed group activity. Recently, the Iranian military claimed on national television that its allied groups fired missiles that downed the aircraft.
This incident raises the official US military death toll in the US-Israel-Iran conflict to seven and marks the fourth US aircraft lost in this war, following the recent shootdown of three F-15 fighter jets over Kuwaiti airspace due to friendly fire.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, produced by Boeing from the 1950s to early 1960s, is considered the "backbone" of the US Air Force's aerial refueling capability, extending the operational range of fighter jets and bombers without requiring them to land.
Typically, this aircraft carries at least three crew members: a pilot, co-pilot, and boom operator. In this incident, six crew members were aboard, resulting in a significant loss of US military personnel in the Middle East region.
/BBC