All six crew members aboard a US. military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the U.S. military said on Friday.
Read Also: Iraqi group claims responsibility for downing US military aircraft
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of ’Iran-backed factions’, claimed responsibility for downing a US military refueling aircraft in western Iraq on Thursday.
The group said in a statement it had shot down the KC-135 “in defense of our country’s sovereignty and airspace”.
A US refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident US Central Command said.
The United States has deployed a large number of jets into the Middle East to take part in operations against Iran and the incident highlights the risk of operations, even over friendly skies.