WASHINGTON, United States, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The US military on Friday announced that the entire crew of six was killed when an aerial refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq -- an incident it said was not caused by "hostile fire."

"All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased," US Central Command said in a social media post.

"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," said the military command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East.

This brings the total of confirmed US deaths in the operation against Iran to 13.