Four US Air Force Crew Killed as Military Refuelling Plane Crashes in Iraq
Four of the six crew members aboard a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker have been killed after the aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed, as rescue efforts for the remaining two service members continue.
CENTCOM said that the crash occurred at around 2pm Eastern Time during Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon's name for the ongoing US campaign against Iran, and stated that the loss was "not due to hostile fire or friendly fire." A second aircraft was involved in the incident but landed safely. The identities of those killed in the crash are being withheld for 24 hours to allow families to be notified first.
The circumstances remain under investigation, and CENTCOM's account has been disputed. Iran's military claimed on state television that an allied group had shot the plane down, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it had downed the KC-135 "with the appropriate weapon." CENTCOM described the crash as occurring in "friendly airspace," though western Iraq is an area where pro-Iranian militias are active.
The KC-135 Stratotanker is effectively a flying fuel station, allowing combat aircraft to refuel mid-air and extend their range and time in a battle zone. First delivered to the US military in the late 1950s and early 1960s and based on the Boeing 707 passenger jet, the aircraft has been a cornerstone of American air operations for decades. Its standard crew includes a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator, who is the specialist responsible for the mid-air refuelling arm, with some missions also requiring a navigator.
Thursday's crash marks the fourth aircraft that the US military has lost since the war with Iran began on 28th February. Three F-15E Strike Eagles were downed on 1st March in what CENTCOM described as a mistaken friendly fire incident over Kuwait; all six crew members ejected safely.
The four confirmed deaths bring the total number of US military fatalities in the conflict to at least eleven. Seven service members had been confirmed as being killed before Thursday's crash, with an eighth dying in Kuwait from a health-related emergency. A further 140 have been wounded, with eight facing severe injuries, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. Across the broader conflict, an estimated 1,348 Iranians have been killed since hostilities began, along with 15 Israelis and 17 people in neighbouring Gulf states.
The mounting toll comes as the war faces significant public opposition at home. A Quinnipiac University poll released on 9th March found that 53% of voters opposed the military offensive, while 74% rejected any scenario involving US ground troops. Research firm Ipsos found similar results, with 43% disapproving of the strikes against just 29% in support. The conflict has even divided Trump's own base, with prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson calling it "absolutely disgusting and evil" in an interview with ABC News. Trump responded by distancing himself from his former ally: "MAGA is America First, and Tucker is none of those things," he told ABC News.
The administration has also struggled to articulate a consistent rationale for the war. Trump has warned that a "nuclear war" would have broken out without intervention and suggested that Iran had refused to negotiate over its nuclear programme, despite officials at other points indicating that talks had been close to a breakthrough. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the US struck because "we knew there was going to be an Israeli action," before later walking that statement back.
