An American KC-135 refueling plane crashed in Iraq, killing all six crew members. The US rules out a downing and is investigating the cause of the tragedy.
All six crew members of a US KC-135 tanker plane that crashed in western Iraq on Thursday have died. This was announced on Friday by the Central Command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM), writes TASR according to the reports of the AFP and AP agencies.
- An American KC-135 refueling plane with six crew members crashed in western Iraq.
- All six crew members of the KC-135 died in the accident.
- The incident took place in Allied airspace, beyond enemy control.
- The US military has ruled out the downing of the plane by Iran or by mistake by allies.
- Three American F-15 fighter jets were earlier mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.
“All six crew members of the US KC-135 tanker that crashed in western Iraq are now confirmed dead,” the command wrote in a post on the X social network, saying the incident took place in allied airspace.
The center is investigating the causes
The US military is still investigating the cause of the crash. But she ruled out that it was shot down by Iran or by mistake by allies. “The identity of service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin is notified,” CENTCOM added.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a loose coalition of pro-Iranian Shiite militant groups, claimed responsibility for the downing of the plane. In a statement, the coalition said it attacked it “in defense of the sovereignty and airspace” of Iraq. Sky News reports that previous attacks claimed by the group have been found to be questionable.
Previous aircraft losses
According to AFP, the KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft the US has lost during the Middle East war. Three F-15s have previously crashed in Kuwait after being accidentally shot down by the country’s air defenses.
