U.S. military confirms four dead after KC‑135 crash over Iran-linked mission
The United States confirmed on Friday that a US Air Force K C- 135 refueling aircraft crashed while supporting operations against Iran, killing all six crew members as rescue efforts continued and the incident was ruled an accident. U S Central Command stated four deaths were initially reported but later updated to reflect fatalities of every person aboard after recovery work progressed in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury .
Key Points
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1A U.S. military KC‑135 Stratotanker crash occurred on Thursday afternoon near Baghdad while supporting operations against Iran.
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2The aircraft crashed in friendly airspace, and the incident was followed by an unspecified event involving two other planes before impact.
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3U.S. Central Command confirmed four of six crew members have been found dead; at least one survivor remains unaccounted for as rescue efforts continue.
Developments
The US military confirmed that all six crew members aboard a KC-135 refueling aircraft are dead following an unspecified incident involving two planes in "friendly airspace" over western Iraq, with the other plane landing safely and no cause of crash being determined yet. The Central Command stated this loss was not due to hostile or friendly fire during operations against Iran marking it as the fourth publicly acknowledged US military aviation casualty since April 2019's F-35A incident in Syria