US raises death toll from refueling aircraft crash from four to six

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The American military says all six crew members are confirmed dead in the refueling aircraft crash over western Iraq last night.

“All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased,” the US Central Command says.

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

Earlier, CENTCOM announced that four soldiers had been killed in the crash.

The KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed following an apparent accident involving another tanker.

The second tanker landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. The aircraft had sent a “squawk code” of 7700, an international emergency signal, according to flight tracking data.

The six fatalities join seven others sustained by US forces since the start of the Iran war

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