US military says aircraft crash in Iraq killed all 6 crew members
Source by : CNA Digital NEWS Hub
13 Mar 2026 06:50 AM
US military says aircraft crash in Iraq killed all 6 crew members
The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war in the Middle East.
A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 taxies at the Moron Air Base in Moron de la Frontera, southern Spain on Aug 27, 2021. (File photo: Reuters/Marcelo del Pozo)
WASHINGTON: A US KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, killing the entire crew of six, the military said on Friday (Mar 13), adding that the incident was not caused by "hostile fire".
A second plane involved in the incident, which the military said occurred at 2pm Eastern Time (7pm GMT) on Thursday, landed safely.
"All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refuelling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased," US Central Command said in a social media post.
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," said the military command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East.
This brings the total of confirmed US deaths in the operation against Iran to 13.
Iran's military said in an earlier statement carried by state TV that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have downed a KC-135. They also said they had targeted another plane that escaped.
Since the start of the Middle East war, the alliance has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, but it rarely names its targets.
The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three - a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.
But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.
Early in the war - which began on Feb 28 - Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.
That incident occurred during combat, including "attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones", the military command said at the time.
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