All six crew members of a United States KC-135 refuelling aircraft have now been confirmed dead following a crash in western Iraq, according to US Central Command (Centcom).
Initially, four of the personnel had been located, with search efforts underway for the remaining two. Centcom clarified that neither hostile nor friendly fire played a role in the incident, which occurred on Thursday.
The tanker was part of ongoing US operations against Iran and was one of two aircraft involved in the event, with the second aircraft landing safely.
The KC-135, built by Boeing, is a midair refuelling aircraft that has been integral to US military operations since the 1950s and was used extensively during the first Gulf War to extend the range of fighter jets and bombers.
Centcom stated that the crash took place around 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Thursday and that the circumstances are under investigation. A search and rescue mission had been launched to find the remaining crew members.
The identities of those killed are being withheld for 24 hours to allow notification of their next of kin.
Gen Dan Caine, chair of the US Joint Chiefs, told reporters, “The plane had crashed while the crew was on a combat mission.” Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the crew as “American heroes” and said, “Their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.”
Typically, a KC-135 crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, and a boom operator who controls the aircraft’s refuelling arm.
Centcom previously said the crash occurred over friendly airspace, although the region is known to host pro-Iranian militias. Iran’s military later claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile.
The crash raises the official US military death toll in the US-Israel war with Iran, ongoing for two weeks, to 13. The US has also lost at least four aircraft since the conflict began.
Earlier this month, three F-15s were downed in what officials called “an apparent friendly fire incident” over Kuwait; all six crew members ejected safely.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, manufactured by Boeing in the 1950s and 1960s, remains a backbone of the US air refuelling fleet, enabling combat aircraft to conduct extended missions without landing.
Separately, Israel’s military reported launching a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Iranian infrastructure in and around Tehran, where explosions were later heard.
These developments followed US adjustments to sanctions, allowing other nations to purchase Russian oil already en route, aiming to reduce the war’s economic impact.
Oil prices surged above $100 (£75) per barrel on Thursday, while stock markets fell after three more cargo vessels were attacked in the Gulf.
Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to continue blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump suggested the conflict could end “very soon” due to the spike in oil prices, while adding the US could “go further.”
Meanwhile, France reported that a drone strike killed a soldier, Staff Sgt Arnaud Frion, and injured six others at a Kurdish military base in northern Iraq, where troops were stationed to train Iraqi forces.
