All six U.S. crew members have been confirmed dead after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq while taking part in Iran war operations, the U.S. military said Friday.
U.S. Central Command said in a post on X early Friday that the KC-135 plane went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET Thursday in western Iraq, with four crew members initially confirmed dead. That statement said "rescue efforts continue."
In a subsequent post, CENTCOM confirmed that all six crew members "are now confirmed deceased."
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," CENTCOM said.
It said earlier that two aircraft were involved in the incident and that one landed safely.
As is standard protocol in military deaths, the identities of those killed are being withheld until 24 hours after their families have been informed.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the crew of the refueling plane as "American heroes."
"War is hell. War is chaos. And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen," he told a Pentagon news briefing Friday.
"We will greet those heroes at Dover and their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission," Hegseth said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speaking alongside Hegseth, said: "Our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them. It’s a reminder of the true cost of the dedication and commitment of the joint force."
The crash means that a total of 12 active service personnel have been killed since the conflict began Feb. 28, when U.S. forces joined with Israel to target senior leaders and military sites in Iran. A 13th died of a medical issue.
Last week, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three U.S. fighter jets but none of the crew members were killed.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, which costs almost $40 million each, has been used as a key refueling plane by the U.S Air Force, Marine Corps and the Navy for more than 60 years.
It can also be used in medical evacuations, according to the Air Force website. Typically the planes have a crew of three, but this expands to a basic crew of five when used for medical purposes.
This is a developing story — check back here for updates soon.
