Four US service members killed in plane crash over Iraq
Four US service members killed in plane crash over Iraq
By Idrees Ali and Phil StewartFri, March 13, 2026 at 10:19 AM UTC
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An U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to Vermont Air National Guard?s 158th Fighter Wing flies next to a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft assigned to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing currently operating out of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, during flyovers over the Baltic Sea June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Nitschke (REUTERS / Reuters)
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Four of the six crew members aboard a U.S. military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the U.S. military said on Friday, as rescue efforts continued for the remaining two.
A U.S. military refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
The deaths add to the seven U.S. service members who have already been killed as part of U.S. operations against Iran which began on February 28.
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," a statement from U.S. Central Command said.
A U.S. official told Reuters that the second aircraft involved in the crash, which landed safely, was also a military refueling aircraft known as the KC-135.
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The United States has deployed a large number of aircraft into the Middle East to take part in operations against Iran and the incident highlights the risk of not just operations, but of refueling aircraft in the air.
The KC-135, built by Boeing in the 1950s and early 1960s, has served as the backbone of the U.S. military's air refueling fleet and is critical to allowing aircraft to carry out missions without having to land.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, claimed responsibility for downing the U.S. military refueling aircraft.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that as many as 150 U.S. troops have been wounded in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. News of the crash comes the same day two U.S. sailors were injured after the USS Gerald Ford suffered a non-combat-related fire on board.
The first seven U.S. troops were killed when a drone slammed into a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned the Iran conflict will result in more U.S. military deaths as Tehran retaliates against U.S. and Israeli strikes.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Source: “AOL Breaking”
