CENTCOM confirms entire crew of downed refueling plane dead

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday confirmed the death of the crew of a refueling plane that went down in western Iraq on Thursday.

"All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased," CENTCOM stated. "The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury."

"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," the statement concluded.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, but the death toll of six makes the incident the single most deadly individual cause of U.S. deaths since the start of the Iran War.

Iraqi airspace has been flooded with ballistic missiles and aircraft amid the conflict. Much of Iraqi Kurdistan came under Iranian fire as Tehran targeted U.S. bases at the start of the war. 

Iraq is also home to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of militias formed to fight ISIS that enjoys official recognition from Baghdad and includes a number of pro-Iran groups.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.