ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – With the US military announcing the loss of a refueling aircraft over Iraq, Tehran shortly after claimed responsibility through its proxies in Iraq, alleging that all US crew members were “killed,” a claim denied by the pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Late Thursday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced “the loss of a US KC-135 refueling aircraft,” describing the incident as a “friendly airspace” and stressing that “rescue efforts are ongoing.,”

“Two aircraft were involved in the incident,” the statement said, while noting that “one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.” This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM noted.

Shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters claimed that a US military refueling plane was “hit by a missile” by its proxy groups in western Iraq and crashed, noting that the attack resulted in “killing all its crew,” the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.