Miami, USA — The United States confirmed Friday that all six crew members aboard a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker that crashed in western Iraq have died.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, said the “circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” while stressing that the loss of the aircraft “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
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“All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased. The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.
With the deaths of the six servicemen, the number of US troops killed since the start of the war against Iran on Feb. 28 has risen to 14.
According to US officials, seven soldiers died in Iranian attacks, one died in a medical emergency in Kuwait, and the remaining casualties occurred in the Iraq crash.
A pro-Iranian militia, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, earlier claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft, saying it was struck by air-defense systems.
The group said it had also targeted a second US aircraft in western Iraq, which it claimed made an emergency landing at “one of the enemy’s airports,” with the crew unharmed.
CENTCOM has not confirmed those claims and said it has no reports of an attack on a second aircraft.
Iran also said the tanker plane was struck by a missile fired by Iraqi armed groups.
US officials say this is the second incident involving American forces since the war began.
Earlier this week, a fire aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the US fleet, injured two Marines. CENTCOM said that incident was also not caused by enemy action.
SOURCE : CENTCOM/EFE. | Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |
