Four of the six U.S. military crew aboard a KC-135 refueling aircraft have been found dead after the plane crashed in Iraq as rescue efforts continue, the American military said.
The U.S. military’s Central Command made the announcement in a statement, AP reports. “The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” U.S. Central Command said.
CENTCOM, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq. A second U.S. official, who similarly spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.
The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
