Six US service members killed in military plane crash in Iraq: CENTCOM

The United States army has confirmed that all six crew members on board a military refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq have been killed, as the fallout of the US-Israeli war on Iran escalates.

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Friday morning, adding that the KC-135 aircraft did not crash “due to hostile fire or friendly fire”.

“The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM said, adding that the identities of the service members would not be released until after their families were notified.

CENTCOM had said two aircraft were involved in the incident, which took place at about 2pm local time in Washington, DC (19:00 GMT) on Thursday. “One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely,” the military had said.

However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility, announcing that it shot down a US Army KC-135 aircraft in western Iraq “with the appropriate weapon”.

The incident brings the death toll among American service members since the US-Israeli war with Iran began late last month to 13.

Another member of the military died in Kuwait from a “health-related incident” during a medical emergency, authorities said.

Another 140 US service members also have been wounded, with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell saying eight faced severe injuries.

Reporting from Washington, DC, on Friday, Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane said US President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to “downplay the cost of this war on US forces”.

“[That’s] partially because this is a very unpopular war,” Culhane said, noting that the US public is largely divided along partisan lines, with Republicans supporting the US attacks on Iran and Democrats calling for an end to the conflict.

A March 9 survey from Quinnipiac University found that 53 percent of voters opposed the military offensive against Iran. An even higher proportion, 74 percent, rejected the idea of starting ground operations, with “boots on the ground” for US troops.

“US President Donald Trump was elected largely because of two things, because he promised … he would keep the US out of foreign wars and he would lower prices,” Culhane said.

“This [war with Iran] is having the exact opposite impact … and so we’re going to see a ripple effect of this on the economy for the American people at a time when the vast majority said everything was already unaffordable.”

Other US aircraft shot down

Thursday’s crash is the latest to befall the US military since it began operations against Iran on February 28.

Three American fighter jets were downed in an apparent friendly fire incident on March 1.

CENTCOM said the jets – three F-15E Strike Eagles – were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences” during an active combat situation, as Iran issued retaliatory attacks across much of the Middle East.

In that incident, the six personnel on board the fighter jets ejected safely and were recovered in stable condition.

Despite the incidents and mounting international calls for de-escalation, the Trump administration has pledged to press on with its military offensive against Iran.

Iranian leaders also have pledged to respond to any US-Israeli attacks, continuing to launch missiles and drones at countries across the wider Middle East.

At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 others wounded in Iran since the war began, according to the latest figures from the Iranian Health Ministry.