The US Defense Department has announced the names of the six US military personnel that died in an accident involving a military refuelling aircraft in western Iraq earlier this week. This happened on Thursday when an aerial refuelling plane, KC-135, crashed in the region. The officials have mentioned that the crash was not due to hostile fire and a current investigation is underway to establish the exact circumstances of the accident.
Pentagon listed the crew members who died in the crash as John Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio and Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio. The armed forces gave their apologies to the families of the deceased service members and referred to them as service members who carried out a highly important mission.
The US Air Force is extensively using the KC-135 aircraft in its aerial refuelling missions, enabling combat and surveillance aircraft to have a longer flight time. Authorities affirmed that a second plane that was also participating in the same mission made a safe landing without any fatalities.
This has happened amid the tensions and military actions in the Middle East. After the crash, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a coalition of Iran-supported armed forces, made claims that it had shot down the aircraft and that they had also shot down another aircraft which had just escaped the fire. But even the US officials have indicated that it has not been proven yet that the aircraft was downed.
Ever since the start of the war in the region, the alliance has been citing incessant assaults on the US military interests in Iraq and the adjacent regions.
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