An American military refuelling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, US Central Command said Thursday.It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A US official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard.The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as “a loss.”US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq.A second US official, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.“More information will be made available as the situation develops,” Central Command said. “We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the US military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.US carrying out rescue effort after military aircraft crash in IraqMarch 13, 2026 8:08 amA US military refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident US Central Command said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. The United States has deployed a large number of aircraft into the Middle East to take part in operations against Iran and the incident highlights the risk of operations, even over friendly skies. In a statement, US Central Command said it was carrying out rescue efforts after the US KC-135 refueling aircraft went down. The second aircraft landed safely. “The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury,” the statement said, using the military name of the US operation against Iran. Reuters