Pentagon Names Six Servicemembers Killed in Iraq Refueling Plane Crash

The Pentagon has identified the six U.S. servicemembers killed in the KC-135 refueling aircraft crash in western Iraq on Thursday. The crash marks the first American combat deaths since strikes on Iran began two weeks ago, bringing the official U.S. military death toll in the conflict to 13.

Those killed in the crash were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, from Auburn, Ala., Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, from Covington, Wash., and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, from Bardstown, Ky. Also killed were Capt. Seth Koval, 38, from Indiana, Curtis Angst, 30, and Tyler Simmons, 28, both natives of Ohio. Klinner, Savino, and Pruitt were U.S. Air Force personnel, while Koval, Angst, and Simmons served in the National Guard.

The KC-135 aircraft was on a combat mission as part of ongoing U.S. operations against Iran when it crashed in western Iraq on Thursday. The aircraft was one of two planes involved in the incident. The second plane landed safely.

U.S. officials told CBS News that the incident may have involved a midair collision. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. U.S. Central Command described the crash as happening over friendly airspace.

An Iraqi intelligence source told CBS the first plane went down near Turaibil, located on the Iraqi-Jordanian border. Iran's military claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile.

The deaths of these six servicemembers bring the official U.S. military death toll in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran to 13. Six more soldiers have been killed in Kuwait and another in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. military has lost at least four aircraft during the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran, including one that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In early March, three F-15 fighter jets were shot down in "an apparent friendly fire incident" over Kuwait. All six crew members were able to safely eject.

Boeing manufactured the KC-135 Stratotanker for the U.S. military in the 1950s and early 1960s. The KC-135 has been a backbone to the U.S. military's air refueling fleet, allowing combat aircraft to carry out longer missions without needing to land.