At least four people were killed when a U.S. refuelling tanker crashed in Iraq, U.S. Central Command has confirmed.
Centcom reported that a KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury – the growing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Four of six crew members on board were confirmed dead, while rescue efforts for two other crew were ongoing Friday morning.
The U.S. military said the plane went down in western Iraq, but not as a result of either hostile fire or friendly fire.
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, while the Washington Post reported the second plane was also a KC-135.
On Friday, Centcom said four people had been confirmed dead of the six crew members on board, adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
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”.
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.
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 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.
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.
The Pentagon has said at least 11 US service members have been killed since the conflict started, while around 140 have been wounded.
