Four of six crew members on the United States Air Force KC-135 aircraft that crashed in western Iraq have died, the US' Central Command said in an X post Friday afternoon. Efforts to rescue the other two are ongoing, CENTCOM said.
CENTCOM said the reasons remain "under investigation", though it ruled out hostile or friendly fire as causes. The identities of the deceased soldiers have been withheld for 24 hours after their family have been notified, CENTCOM concluded.
The US military confirmed Thursday that a KC-135 - used to refuel other aircraft mid-air - had crashed while a second (unspecified) plane involved in the incident landed safely.