Overview
- CENTCOM reported six service members were aboard the tanker, confirmed four fatalities, with rescue operations continuing.
- The crash occurred around 2 p.m. Eastern on March 12 during Operation Epic Fury in friendly airspace over western Iraq.
- U.S. officials said the loss was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire, countering Iranian-linked claims that Iraqi resistance forces shot down the aircraft.
- Two KC-135s were involved in the mission, and U.S. officials said the second tanker landed safely, reported to be in Israel.
- A separate drone strike in Erbil wounded several French soldiers and later killed one, marking France’s first confirmed military death during the ongoing regional escalation.