us-kc-135-refueling-aircraft-crashes-in-iraq

Four of the six crew members aboard a US military KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq have been found dead, the US military's Central Command informed.

 

“Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue,” it said. “The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

 

US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said two aircraft were involved, and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq. The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as 'a loss'. Both planes were KC-135 tankers.

 

The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the US military's operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

 

Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far, while about 140 US service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week. Six of the fallen service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations centre at a civilian port in Kuwait. They were in the Army Reserve and worked in logistics, keeping troops supplied with food and equipment. They died one day after the US and Israel launched the military campaign against Iran on February 28. Meanwhile, the seventh American service member died after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.