Four US service personnel have died following a plane crash in Iraq, authorities have confirmed.
US Central Command (CentCom), which oversees operations in the Middle East, said "rescue efforts continue," for two further crew members who were onboard the aircraft.
The identities of those killed will be withheld for a day until next of kin can be notified.
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," it was confirmed.
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The US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker went down at around 2pm Eastern (7pm GMT) on Thursday, March 12.
Two aircraft were involved in the incident. CentCom confirmed the second plane, also a KC-135, landed safely.
The plane went down in western Iraq, a region where pro-Iranian militias operate.
Iraq’s western desert is a landscape primarily made up of empty rocky plains, but many Shia militia, who back the Iranian regime, have set up bases and have also been the site of Israeli and US airstrikes.
Four US service personnel on board a refuelling plane that crashed in Iraq have died, authorities have confirmed
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Despite the US confirming this was not due to "hostile" fire, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of armed paramilitaries backed by Iran, said on state TV it was responsible for downing the aircraft.
This was "in defence of our country’s sovereignty and airspace," the group claimed.
The tanker, which is capable of refuelling planes midair, had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran.
Now, 11 US soldiers have been confirmed to have been killed since the outbreak of the war with Iran, while the US has lost at least four aircraft.
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Now, 11 US soldiers have been confirmed to have been killed since the outbreak of the war with Iran, while the US has now lost at least four aircraft
|GETTY
Three F-15s were accidentally shot down in "an apparent friendly fire incident" by Kuwait air defences earlier this month. All six personnel were able to eject safely.
US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned the conflict will likely claim the lives of more American soldiers before it ends.
Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, yesterday vowed revenge for Iranians that had been killed during the conflict.
In his first public remarks since he became Ayatollah following the death of his father, wife and son in US-Israeli airstrikes, Khamenei said: "We will never retreat, and vow to avenge the blood of our martyrs.
"Our revenge will be never ending, not only for the late supreme leader, but also for the blood of all of our martyrs. … Those who killed our children will pay the price."
The Ayatollah, who was injured himself during the strikes, also vowed to keep the pivotal Strait of Hormuz shut.
"They will pay the price. We will destroy their facilities," he said. "It is necessary to continue our defensive activity, including continuing to close the Strait of Hormuz."
Despite the statement from Tehran, President Trump told G7 leaders that Iran is "about to surrender," adding: "Nobody knows who is the leader, so there is no one that can announce surrender."
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