U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has declared the death of at least 4 crew members in a plane crash in western Iraq around 14: 00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, with two more crew members missing, during a refueling operation.
The military said that a second plane involved in the operation has landed safely. The Pentagon is currently holding a news briefing and has revealed that efforts to find and rescue the two members are underway, adding that the identities of the deceased service members were being withheld for 24 hours so their next of kin could be informed
The U.S. military has strongly denied that the incident is a result of “hostile fire.” However, an Iranian proxy group has claimed responsibility, bringing the number of U.S. service members killed in the war against Iran to 11.
An attack on Kuwait’s Shuaiba port on 1st March ended with six U.S. members being killed. Another U.S. service man succumbed to his injuries on Saturday after being involved in an attack earlier this month in Saudi Arabia.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah