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Four US service members were killed after a refuelling plane crashed in Iraq, the US military has confirmed. The US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said the crash occurred at 2pm on Thursday.

Rescue efforts are reported to be ongoing. Posted on X, the official US Military statement reiterated that the loss of the aircraft was "not due to hostile fire or friendly fire". Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed as deceased. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. The statement went on to add: "The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified." The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is an umbrella group of Iranian proxies, has claimed responsibility for downing the plane. Although its previous claims have been disputed.

Earlier this month, officials said three F-15 fighter jets were brought down over Kuwait in what was described as an apparent friendly fire incident.

All six crew members ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagle were reported to be in stable condition after being recovered.

At the time of writing, as many as 111 American troops have been reported killed during the Iran conflict so far, while around 140 U.S. service members have been injured.

The Pentagon confirmed last week that eight of these were classed as "severe".

On March 3, the US confirmed that six Army Reserve soldiers were killed after a drone strike hit a command centre in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, during the escalating conflict with Iran.

Officials said the unmanned aircraft evaded air defences, with the death toll rising in the days after the attack as more bodies were recovered.

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The KC-135 is a military aerial refuelling aircraft used mainly by the United States Air Force.

A flying fuel tanker allows other military aircraft to refuel while still in the air, meaning they can fly much farther and stay on missions longer.

US Central Command previously reported that two aircraft were involved, with one going down over Western Iraq.

It also said the incident happened over friendly airspace, with the second aircraft landing safely.

According to AP news, a second U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.

The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash in the U.S. military's operations against Iran.