Six US soldiers killed in plane crash over Iraq
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) – The six crew members aboard a U.S. military refueling plane that crashThey have been confirmed killed in western Iraq, the US military said on Friday.
A US military refueling aircraft crashIt occurred in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
The deaths are in addition to seven US service members who have already died as part of US operations against Iran that began on February 28.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile or friendly fire,” a statement from US Central Command said.
A US official told Reuters that the second plane involved in the crashThe one that landed safely was also a military refueling aircraft known as KC-135.
The United States has deployed large numbers of aircraft to the Middle East to participate in operations against Iran and the incident highlights the risk not only of the operations, but also of refueling aircraft in the air.
All crew members of US KC-135 lost in Iraq confirmed dead
TAMPA, Fla. – All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling plane that crashed in western Iraq have been confirmed dead. The plane was lost while flying over friendly airspace on March 12 during…
– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026
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The United States has”There are no stupid rules of engagement,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday.
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The Secretary of Defense lamented the “tragic things” that appear in the “first news.”
“},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump: ‘There will probably be more’ US troops killed”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69a4c365270000eb4147268f.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:2560,”height”:1440,”credit”:””,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/trump-there-will-likely-be-more-us-troops-killed_n_69a4c365e4b033a0453503cb”,”ten”:”While vowing revenge for the three service members killed during the attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump warned that more US troops were likely to die during ongoing operations against the Islamic Republic. “},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”The pro-Trump New York Post attacks the White House for a ‘failure’ in its war against Iran”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69b3a9a01b000079e614e213.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”SpPgX7CyBs”},”broad”:4409,”height”:2941,”credit”:”Heather Diehl via Getty Images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News themezone.com/entry/new-york-post-donald-trump-iran-war_n_69b3a63de4b0a41ddfc54c53″,”ten”:”
The White House has dropped the ball on one thing, the editorial board of the Trump-friendly tabloid said.
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President Donald Trump called Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei”one of the most evil people in history.”
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All crew members of US KC-135 lost in Iraq confirmed dead
TAMPA, Fla. – All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling plane that crashed in western Iraq have been confirmed dead. The plane was lost while flying over friendly airspace on March 12 during…
– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026
Jack Guez/News via Getty Images
The KC-135, built by Boeing BA.N in the 1950s and early 1960s, has served as the backbone of the U.S. military’s aerial refueling fleet and is instrumental in allowing aircraft to carry out missions without having to land.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of armed factions backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the downing of the US military refueling plane.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that up to 150 US troops have been injured in the US-Israel war against Iran. news of the crash It comes the same day that two American sailors were injured after the USS Gerald Ford suffered a non-combat-related onboard fire.
The first seven US soldiers were killed when a drone crashed into a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
President Donald Trump and other top officials have warned that the conflict with Iran will lead to more US military deaths as Tehran retaliates against US and Israeli attacks.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Toby Chopra and Chizu Nomiyama)