Rescue effort under way as US military refueling plane crashes in Iraq

A 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.It wasn’t immediately clear if there were casualties.The United States has surged a large number of aircraft into the Middle East to take part in operations against Iran.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, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the statement said, using the name of the US operation against Iran.This is the fourth US aircraft downed since the US and Israel started carrying out strikes against Iran on 28 February. Earlier this month, three US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down in a “friendly fire” incident by Kuwait air defenses. All crew members in those jets ejected safely.Seven US troops have been killed in the conflict in the US-Israeli war on Iran, while Reuters reported on Tuesday that as many as 150 US troops have been wounded. The death toll in Iran is more than 1,300, according to the country’s UN ambassador.More details soon …