Four US service members killed in plane crash over Iraq

WASHINGTON - Four of the six crew members aboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the US military said on Friday, as rescue efforts continued for the remaining two.

A US military refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," a statement from US Central Command said.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the other aircraft involved in the incident was also a KC-135 and the one that crashed had six service members on board.

The KC-135, built by Boeing in the 1950s and early 1960s, has served as the backbone of the US military’s air refuelling fleet and is critical to allow aircraft to carry out missions without having to land.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, claimed responsibility for downing the US military refueling aircraft in western Iraq.

The group said in a statement it had shot down the KC-135 aircraft "in defense of our country's sovereignty and airspace."