Four US crew members killed in Iraq plane crash as search continues for two missing airmen

Four US service personnel on board a refuelling plane that crashed in Iraq have died, authorities have confirmed.

US Central Command (CentCom), which oversees operations in the Middle East, said "rescue efforts continue," for two further crew members who were onboard the aircraft.

The identities of those killed will be withheld for a day until next of kin can be notified.

"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," it was confirmed.

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The US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker went down at around 2pm Eastern (6pm GMT) on Thursday, March 12.

Two aircrafts were involved in the incident. CentCom confirmed the second plane, also a KC-135, landed safely.

Despite US confirming this was not due to "hostile" fire, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of armed paramilitaries backed by Iran, said on state TV it was responsible for downing the aircraft.

This was "in defence of our country’s sovereignty and airspace," the group said.

The plane went down in western Iraq, a region where pro-Iranian militias operate.

Iraq’s western desert is a landscape primarily made up of empty rocky plains, but many Shia militia, who back the Iranian regime, have set up bases and have also been the site of Israeli and US airstrikes.

The tanker, which is capable of refuelling planes midair, had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran.

Seven US soldiers have been confirmed t have been killed since the outbreak of the war with Iran, while the US has now lost at least four aircraft.

Three F-15s were shot down in "an apparent friendly fire incident" over Kuwait earlier this month. All six personnel were able to eject safely.

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