Six crew members were killed when a U.S. refuelling tanker crashed in Iraq, U.S. Central Command has confirmed.
Centcom reported that a KC-135 Stratotanker came down Thursday during Operation Epic Fury - the growing conflict between the U.S. and Iran that was launched by President Donald Trump at the end of February.
The military said on Friday afternoon that all six crew members on board the plane were killed in the incident. They have not been named.
At least 13 U.S. service members have now been killed since the war started two weeks ago, while around 140 have been wounded.
Here’s all we know about the crash in Iraq so far:
What has happened?
Two aircraft were involved in an incident in friendly airspace in western Iraq at around 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.
One of the two planes crashed, while the other managed to land safely. Centcom has confirmed the stricken plane was a US Boeing KC-135, a heavy tanker with a wingspan of 40m.
The Washington Post reported the second aircraft was also a KC-135, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Centcom confirmed on Friday afternoon that six crew members were killed.
Earlier in the day, rescue teams were working at the scene after confirming the deaths of four people.
The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified, Centcom said.
Investigators believed the crash could have been caused by a midair collision but the circumstances remained unclear, the New York Times reported.
What have authorities said?
Centcom stressed in its initial statement on Thursday the plane did not go down as a result of either hostile or friendly fire.
It did not say exactly where or when the incident occurred, but said more information would be made available as the situation develops.
“We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members,” a statement read.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of armed factions backed by Iran, meanwhile claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft.
The group said in a statement it had shot down the aircraft “in defence of our country’s sovereignty and airspace”, contradicting the U.S. version of events.
What do we know about the planes involved?
The US Boeing KC-135 was developed in the 1950s and has seen extensive use in American combat operations for decades.
Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years. It is set to be gradually phased out as more of the next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers enter service.
A basic KC-135 crew has three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical evacuation missions.
The aircraft can carry large amounts of fuel - up to 83,000lbs (37,650kg) of cargo - and refuel a wide range of aircraft used by the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and allied forces. Aerial refuelling is one of the most technically demanding operations in military aviation.
During these missions, the tanker aircraft must fly at a steady speed and altitude while another aircraft moves close enough for a refuelling boom to connect. The process requires precise coordination between pilots and the boom operator and even small errors can lead to accidents.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve. According to USAF data, they cost around $40mn per unit in 1998.
How many US planes have crashed since the conflict began?
This is the fourth U.S. manned aircraft lost since Operation Epic Fury started, although none of the incidents have been attributed to Iranian fire by U.S. officials.
On 1 March, three Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle jets were shot down, reportedly by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 aircraft in a friendly fire incident.
Centcom said they “went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident”.
At least one of the U.S. aircraft appeared to be from a U.K. airbase, the BBC reported, based on identifying markers on the wreckage of one of the jets. The U.S. Air Force would not confirm the origin of the planes.
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