The United States (U.S) Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Friday that 4 service crew members have been confirmed dead in a military plane crash in Iraq after an aerial incident involving two refueling tankers.
The military plane crash in Iraq, which occurred on Thursday afternoon, brings the total American military fatalities to 11 since the current conflict with Iran began on February 28, 2026.
According to military officials, two KC-135 Stratotankers were involved in an unspecified incident in “friendly airspace” over western Iraq.
While one aircraft managed to land safely at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel after declaring an emergency, the other went down near the town of Turaibil, close to the Jordanian border.
Of the six crew members on board the downed tanker, search and rescue teams have recovered four bodies. The search for the remaining two service members is ongoing.
”The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM stated in an official release on X.
The KC-135 Stratotanker, which costs almost $40 million each, has been used as a key refueling plane by the U.S Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Navy for more than 60 years.
It can also be used in medical evacuations, according to the Air Force website. Typically the planes have a crew of three, but this expands to a basic crew of five when used for medical purposes.
Reacting also to the military plane crash in Iraq on Friday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said that the incident occurred “over friendly territory in western Iraq” and “while the crew was on a combat mission, and again, was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.”
He added that “we’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation,” with the status of two of the six crew members unclear.
Caine said that the Air Force and U.S. Central Command would provide updates about the incident and reiterated that four airmen were recovered.
“Please keep these brave Airmen, their families, friends, and units in your thoughts in the coming hours and days, our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them,” he said. “It’s a reminder of the true cost of the dedication and commitment of the joint force.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that 11 U.S troops have been killed in the conflict, while as many as 150 U.S troops have been wounded. The death toll in Iran is more than 1,300, according to the country’s UN ambassador.
Recall that six of the US service personnel died after an Iranian drone struck an operations centre at a civilian port in Kuwait. They were in the Army Reserve and worked in logistics, keeping troops supplied with food and equipment.
A seventh U. S service member died after being wounded in an attack on the Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia on 1 March.
Last week, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three U.S. fighter jets but none of the crew members were killed.
