Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees)
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on March 13 that all six service members who were aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker aircraft that went down over western Iraq a day earlier were killed.
“All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased,” the command said in a statement, adding that “the aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury.”
Notably, the command stressed once again that the loss of the KC-135 was not the result of any “hostile fire” or “friendly fire.”
The incident took place amid serious escalation in Iraq, which saw the U.S., and possibly Israel, launching deadly strikes against Iran-backed armed factions in the country.
The factions, unified within the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), have been launching strikes against U.S. bases inside Iraq and in nearby countries in response to the war on Iran, and they are known to be armed with advanced air defense systems.
When CENTCOM first announced the loss of the KC-135, it said that “two aircraft were involved in the incident,” and noted that the second one “landed safely.” This has since been confirmed, with leaked photos from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel revealing that the second aircraft was also a KC-135.
The horizontal stabilizer of the second KC-135 appeared to be severely damaged in the photo, which led to speculations that aircraft collided midair, possibly while one of them was refueling the other.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
Click to see full-size image. (X)
Still, the IRI claimed responsibility for shooting down the aircraft, with Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters confirming this.
Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq are known to be in position of advanced air defenses, and since the start of the war on Iran they have announced shooting down two American MQ-9 Reaper combat drones over the country, with one loss confirmed.
The most notable system spotted before with these factions is one identified by the United States military and intelligence as the “358” anti-aircraft weapon. It is a jet-powered missile-drone hybrid interceptor guided by imagining infrared with a reported range of 100 kilometers.
Click to see full-size image.
Last year, the Islamic Republic unveiled a larger version dubbed the “359,” which was reportedly especially designed to target high-value, high-altitude aircraft such as tankers. Of course, it is possible that the IRI used this weapon to target the aircraft over Iraq.
Сlick to see full-size image.
The latest incident brought the number of U.S. troops killed since the start of the war in Iraq to 13. It’s worth noting that a single KC-135 costs close to $40 million.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
you know what else is tanking? trumpstein and his pedo empire