All six U.S. crew members have been confirmed dead after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq, the U.S. military confirmed on Friday.
U.S. Central Command posted on X early Friday that the KC-135 plane crashed in western Iraq around 2 p.m. ET on Thursday. Initially, four crew members were confirmed dead. The statement also mentioned that rescue efforts are ongoing.
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.
As per standard military protocol, the identities of those who have died are 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.
