DOVER, United States, March 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump attended the return Wednesday of six crew members killed when their refueling aircraft crashed during the Iran war.

It was the second time since the start of the conflict that Trump has traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of US troops are returned to American soil.

The KC-135 plane crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, bringing the number of US troops killed in the joint US-Israeli operation to at least 13. A second aircraft damaged in the incident landed safely.

"Their courage will never be forgotten," the White House said on X after the event, which was closed to the media at the request of the families.

Trump, wearing a black overcoat, saluted as flag-draped coffins were removed from the back of a transport plane, according to photographs released by the White House said.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and top US military officer Dan Caine accompanied Trump, who did not comment to reporters.

On the previous transfer on March 7, Trump attended the return of six troops killed when a drone struck a key US command center in Kuwait on the second day of the war.

The "dignified transfer" of bodies of American service members is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by a US president.

But Trump faced criticism, including from some Republicans, for wearing a white "USA" baseball cap to the first event.

At the time the White House accused Trump's critics of "disgustingly playing partisan politics."

The Middle East war shows no signs of abating, with Trump giving mixed messages over the goals and likely length of the sweeping US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

Tehran has replied by launching missile and drone attacks against several Gulf nations and effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, causing global oil prices to soar.