A US military refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday in an incident US Central Command said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
The United States has sent a large number of aircraft into the Middle East to take part in operations against Iran.
In a statement, US Central Command said it was carrying out rescue efforts after the US KC-135 refuelling aeroplane went down. The second aircraft landed safely.
“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the statement said, using the name of the US operation against Iran.
The statement did not provide details on the fate of the KC-135’s crew.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the other aircraft involved in the incident was also a KC-135 and the one that crashed had six service members on board.
The KC-135, built by Boeing in the 1950s and early 1960s, has served as the backbone of the US military’s air refueling fleet and is critical to allow aircraft to carry out missions without having to land.
The KC-135 Stratotanker “provides the core aerial refuelling capability for the United States Air Force and has excelled in this role for more than 60 years”, according to a US Air Force webpage. It also provides refuelling for US Navy and Marine aircraft.
Since the US and Israel started carrying out strikes against Iran on February 28, seven US troops have been killed.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that as many as 150 US troops had been wounded in the US-Israeli war on Iran. – Reuters and agencies