An American Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft has crashed in western Iraq, while a second aircraft involved in the incident landed safely, the United States military said on Thursday.
In a statement, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, confirmed that one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq while the other returned safely.
CENTCOM said the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire, but did not immediately provide further details on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
However, Iran’s military, in a statement aired on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, claimed that an allied group in Iraq had brought down the aircraft with a missile, killing all crew members on board.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq — a loose coalition of Iran-backed Iraqi factions — also claimed responsibility, saying it downed a KC-135 and targeted another aircraft that managed to escape.
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Since the start of the Middle East war, the alliance has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, but it rarely names its targets.
The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.
But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.
Early in the war — which began on February 28 — Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.
That incident occurred during combat including “attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones,” the military command said at the time.
