All 6 U.S. crew members killed after refueling plane crashes in Iraq

All six U.S. crew members have been confirmed dead after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq while taking part in Iran war operations, the U.S. military said Friday.

U.S. Central Command said in a post on X early Friday that the KC-135 plane went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET Thursday in western Iraq, with four crew members initially confirmed dead. The statement said that “rescue efforts continue.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine addressed the ongoing rescue and recovery operation after a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq on Thursday, killing six American service members onboard.

In a subsequent post, CENTCOM confirmed that all six crew members “are now confirmed deceased.”

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM said.

It said earlier that two aircraft were involved in the incident and that one landed safely.

As is standard protocol in military deaths, the identities of those killed are being withheld until 24 hours after their families have been informed.

The crash means that a total of 12 active service personnel have been killed since the conflict began Feb. 28, when U.S. forces joined with Israel to target senior leaders and military sites in Iran. A 13th died of a medical issue.

Last week, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three U.S. fighter jets but none of the crew members were killed.

The KC-135 Stratotanker, which cost almost $40 million each, have been used as key refueling planes 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.

This is a developing story — check back here for updates soon.