ALBAWABA - Early on Friday, an armed group claiming to be the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claimed to have shot down a U.S. KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft in western Iraq and targeted another aircraft in the same region.
The group said in a statement that the crew was able to safely evacuate when the second aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at what it called a "enemy airport."
The second aerial refueling aircraft subsequently touched down at Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israel's Channel 12.
A U.S. aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq earlier, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which also stated that search and rescue efforts were underway and that neither friendly nor hostile fire was the cause of the event.
According to CENTCOM, the aircraft in question was a KC-135 Stratotanker that went down while conducting an operation against Iran in friendly airspace. Additionally, the command stated that two airplanes were engaged in the event, one of which crashed and the other of which made a safe landing.
Six soldiers were on board the plane when it crashed, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters under condition of anonymity.
Developed by Boeing in the 1950s and early 1960s, the KC-135 is now a vital part of the U.S. military's inventory of aerial refuelers, allowing combat aircraft to carry out missions without having to land for fuel.
The Iraqi group claimed in a different statement that within the previous 24 hours, it had launched 31 drone and missile attacks against American military installations in Iraq and the surrounding area.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, according to Iranian official media, said the crew of a U.S. aircraft was killed when it was shot down in western Iraq by missiles fired by resistance groups.
Following the U.S. and Israeli assaults on Iran that started on February 28, tensions in the area are rising. Since then, Iraqi armed groups have also declared strikes against bases within Iraq, and Iran has attacked sites in Gulf states, Iraq, and Jordan that it claims house U.S. military installations.
