The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed the death of four crew members after a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq.
According to the military command, the incident occurred on Thursday while the aircraft was operating in the region. Another plane involved in the operation reportedly landed safely.
CENTCOM disclosed that four of the six personnel on board the aircraft were confirmed dead, while rescue operations were ongoing at the crash site.
The command added that preliminary findings indicated the aircraft was not brought down by hostile or friendly fire.
The crash comes amid the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.
Earlier, Iran’s military had claimed that an allied armed group in Iraq shot down the aircraft using a missile, asserting that all crew members were killed in the attack.
The group known as Islamic Resistance in Iraq also claimed responsibility for targeting another US aircraft, which it said managed to escape.
The KC-135 refuelling aircraft has been in service for over six decades and is commonly used by the United States Air Force to refuel military jets during operations.
