U.S. military says refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq ‘during Operation Epic Fury’; rescue effort under way

A U.S. military refuelling aircraft ​crashed in western Iraq ‌on Thursday (March 12, 2026), in an incident U.S. ​Central Command said ⁠involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile ‌or friendly fire.

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The United States has surged ‌a large number ‌of ⁠aircraft into West Asia ⁠to take part in operations against Iran.

Iran-Israel war LIVE

In a statement, U.S. ​Central Command ‌said it was carrying out rescue efforts after the U.S. KC-135 refuelling aircraft went down. ‌The second aircraft ​landed safely.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace ⁠during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the ‌statement said, using the name of the U.S. operation against Iran.

Fourth military aircraft to go down in war with Iran

The KC-135 is at least the fourth U.S. military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.

KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.

But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.

Early in the war — which began on February 28 — Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crewmembers were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.

That incident occurred during combat including “attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones,” the military command said at the time.

With inputs from AFP, Reuters