US confirms four troops killed in crash as Iraqi resistance claims downing of aircraft
A CBS reporter said in a now-deleted post that one US aircraft was ‘hit’ but landed in Israel, while another crashed in western Iraq
US CENTCOM confirmed in a statement on 13 March the deaths of four servicemembers whose refueling aircraft went down over Iraq the night before, after the Iraqi resistance announced that its forces struck the plane down.
“At approximately 2:00 pm ET on 12 March, a US KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue,” the statement said.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire. The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,” CENTCOM added.
Hours earlier, the Iraqi resistance released a statement announcing that its defenses brought down the US plane.
“In defense of our country’s sovereignty and its airspace, which has been violated by the aircraft of [US] occupation forces, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq shot down a KC-135 aircraft belonging to the American occupation west of Iraq using appropriate weaponry,” said the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) coalition.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces also made a statement saying a US aerial refueling aircraft was struck by air defense systems in western Iraq, causing it to crash and killing its crew members.
CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs said on social media before the Iraqi resistance statement that one KC-135 came under fire and was “hit” but “landed in Israel,” while the other, carrying a crew of six, crashed in western Iraq.
Jacobs then deleted the post she made on X.
The Islamic Republic has continued to successfully launch heavy ballistic missile attacks on Israel and US bases and assets across the region, including energy infrastructure and tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz in violation of Iranian warnings.
Targets such as the US Fifth Fleet Base in Bahrain have been under intense Iranian bombardment since Washington and Tel Aviv began a brutal war against Iran on 28 February.
US bases in Kuwait and elsewhere across the Gulf have also been hit hard. Key US radars used to track ballistic missiles have been struck.
A US military medical evacuation flight transported around 19 injured service members from Saudi Arabia to a US base in Germany earlier today, according to CBS News.
Among them were two troops wounded when a drone exploded next to their vehicle, the report said.
With the crash of the refueling tanker, the number of confirmed US military deaths during the war stands at 12.