US KC-135 Stratotanker crashes near Iraq-Jordan border during operation Epic Fury; rescue mission underway

A US military aerial refuelling aircraft involved in operations linked to the conflict with Iran crashed in western Iraq on Thursday (Mar 12), according to several US officials. The aircraft, a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, went down near the town of Turaibil along the Iraqi-Jordanian border. As per reports, another military plane was forced to declare an emergency and land. Even as one plane crashed and another was forced to make an emergency landing, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the crash was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire. Iran, however, claims that its allied forces downed the aircraft, killing all crew aboard. Here's all we know.

Second tanker damaged but lands safely

Officials said a second KC-135 involved in the incident was damaged but landed safely. According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, one tanker declared an emergency before landing in Tel Aviv later on Thursday. The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.

It is unclear whether the crew of the first aircraft survived the crash. Further details awaited. Recovery operations are currently underway at the crash site. Purported videos of the crashed military plane show an inferno. Watch here:

CENTCOM rules out hostile attack

Even as one plane crashed and another was forced to make an emergency landing, CENTCOM on X insisted that the crash was "not due to hostile fire or friendly fire".

However, the US Central Command confirmed that the two aircraft were involved in the same incident. "The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing," it said, adding, “One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.”

This marks the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash during US President Donald Trump's war on Iran. Earlier in the week, the US military confirmed that three F-15E Strike Eagle jets were downed in a friendly fire incident involving forces in Kuwait. All six crew members ejected safely in that case.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.