Four crew members of a United States military refuelling aircraft have been confirmed dead after their plane crashed in western Iraq, according to United States Central Command (Centcom).
The aircraft, a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, went down while participating in ongoing U.S. military operations linked to the conflict with Iran. Officials said rescue efforts remain underway for the remaining two crew members.
Centcom said the crash occurred at about 14:00 Eastern Time on Thursday and confirmed that neither hostile fire nor friendly fire had initially been identified as the cause of the incident. Investigators are now examining the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The tanker aircraft was one of two U.S. planes involved in the incident. The second aircraft landed safely.
Centcom added that the identities of the deceased personnel would not be released immediately, allowing time for their families to be notified.
Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the aircraft crashed while the crew was carrying out a combat mission.
“We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation,” he said during a press briefing.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the crew members as “American heroes,” adding that their sacrifice would strengthen the country’s resolve to continue the mission.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, built by Boeing, is designed to refuel aircraft midair and plays a critical role in extending the operational range of fighter jets and bombers. The aircraft type has served as a backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s refuelling fleet since it was first introduced in the late 1950s.
The crash occurred in what Centcom described as friendly airspace, although the region of western Iraq has seen activity from militias aligned with Iran. Iranian state media claimed that an allied group had targeted the aircraft with a missile, though U.S. officials have not confirmed that claim.
The incident raises the official U.S. military death toll in the ongoing war involving the United States, Israel and Iran to 11 since the conflict began roughly two weeks ago.
The U.S. military has now lost at least four aircraft during the war. Earlier this month, three McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter jets were shot down in what officials described as an apparent friendly fire incident over Kuwait, though all six crew members aboard those aircraft were able to eject safely.
Meanwhile, Israel said it had launched a new wave of large-scale strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran, the capital of Iran. Explosions were later reported in and around the city.
The conflict has also shaken global markets. Oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel as tensions rose around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping corridor. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed to keep the strategic waterway blocked.
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said the war could end “very soon” after oil prices surged, though he also warned that the United States could escalate its actions if necessary.
Separately, France confirmed that one of its soldiers, Staff Sgt Arnaud Frion, was killed in a drone attack at a Kurdish military base in northern Iraq. Six other French troops were wounded in the strike while stationed there as part of a mission to train Iraqi forces.