Four crew members have died after a United States KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, according to the US military, which said the accident was not the result of hostile action.
The incident occurred around 2:00 pm Eastern Time (1900 GMT) on Thursday. A second aircraft involved in the situation landed safely.
In a statement posted on X, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, confirmed that four of the six personnel on board the aircraft had been declared dead while rescue operations continued.
CENTCOM also said an investigation into the crash had begun, stressing that the aircraft was not brought down by hostile or friendly fire.
With the latest deaths, the number of US service members killed in the ongoing confrontation with Iran has risen to at least 11.
Earlier, Iran’s military claimed that an allied Iraqi group had shot down the aircraft with a missile, killing everyone on board. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq — a coalition of Iran-backed Iraqi factions — also said it was responsible for destroying the KC-135 and claimed it targeted another aircraft that managed to escape.
Since the start of the regional conflict, the alliance has frequently reported attacks on US assets in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, though it seldom identifies specific targets.
The KC-135 is the fourth American military aircraft reportedly lost since the war began. Previously, three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait, although all six crew members managed to eject safely, according to CENTCOM.
The KC-135 tanker, which has been in service for over six decades, typically operates with a three-person crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, and a boom operator responsible for aerial refueling. However, some missions also require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, according to the US Air Force.
The earlier friendly-fire incident occurred during intense combat involving Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones, CENTCOM had said at the time.
Rising Cost of the War
The crash comes amid mounting financial costs for the United States in the war with Iran.
Lawmakers were informed during a Pentagon briefing that the first week of the conflict cost the US more than $11.3 billion, according to a report by The New York Times.
Officials said the figure does not include several expenses related to the military buildup ahead of the strikes, suggesting the overall cost could be significantly higher.
Defense officials had earlier told Congress that about $5.6 billion worth of munitions were used within the first two days of fighting — a rate of spending far higher than previously estimated.
Meanwhile, the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury alone cost roughly $3.7 billion, averaging more than $891 million per day.
