{"id":8923,"date":"2026-03-13T13:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T13:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:01:02","slug":"six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Six more US troops killed in Iran war, in crash of refueling aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hegsethmarch132026-1024x593.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon on March 13, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)\" \/><figcaption>\n<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon on March 13, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of Defense announced Friday that six more American troops have died as a result of the war in Iran, bringing the total to 13 since the conflict began in late February.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">U.S. Central Command wrote in an early-morning social media post that a \u201cKC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq\u201d on Thursday and that four of the six crew members aboard had been confirmed dead, but posted later that no one survived.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,\u201d Central Command said.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine said during a press conference at the Pentagon the \u201cincident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He reiterated there was no \u201chostile or friendly fire\u201d that led to the crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe\u2019re also aware of a fire on board the USS Gerald R. Ford. We\u2019re thinking about the crew there who were injured in the fire,\u201d Caine said. \u201cWe believe and hope that everyone will be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">U.S. Naval Forces Central Command posted on social media late Thursday the fire began \u201cin the ship\u2019s main laundry spaces\u201d and that it \u201cwas not combat-related and is contained.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The post said the ship was in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Red-Sea\" target=\"_blank\">the Red Sea<\/a> in support of the Iran war, which the administration has dubbed Operation Epic Fury.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThere is no damage to the ship\u2019s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,\u201d the post said. \u201cTwo Sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Before Friday, there had been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/briefing-trumps-iran-war-angers-us-senate-dems-pentagon-reports-140-troops-injured\" target=\"_blank\">seven U.S. deaths<\/a> reported in the conflict.<\/p>\n<h4>\u2018Heaviest day\u2019 underway<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Caine said during the briefing that military officials expect Friday will be the \u201cheaviest day of kinetic fires\u201d in the Iran war since\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/us-israel-strike-iran-democrats-call-immediate-vote-trump-war-powers\" target=\"_blank\">it began<\/a> on Feb. 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThey\u2019re continuing to destroy the Iranian Navy to ensure freedom of navigation. And this means going after Iran\u2019s minelaying capability and destroying their ability to attack commercial vessels,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re targeting their defense industrial base so they cannot rebuild the capabilities that can harm America\u2019s interests or our partners in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Caine said while the U.S. military has made \u201cprogress\u201d since it began bombing nearly two weeks ago, \u201cIran still has the capability to harm friendly forces and commercial shipping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Pentagon\u2019s efforts, he said, remain \u201ccomplex, dangerous and difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also at the briefing, said he believes Iran\u2019s new supreme leader has been \u201cwounded and likely disfigured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hegseth also criticized journalists for not providing the government with more favorable coverage of the war in Iran, before moving on to recognize the troops killed during the airplane crash in Iraq.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWar is hell. War is chaos. And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen,\u201d he said, later adding that \u201cwar, in this context and in pursuit of peace, is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Air strike on girls\u2019 school<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hegseth did not provide any updates about the military\u2019s investigation into whether it bombed a girls\u2019 school in Iran in the first days of the war, killing at least 168 people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI can report that CENTCOM has designated an investigating officer to complete a command investigation,\u201d he said. \u201cThe command investigation will take as long as necessary to address all the matters surrounding this incident. And the investigating officer is from outside CENTCOM and is a general officer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Nearly every Democrat in the Senate\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/dems-demand-swift-pentagon-investigation-deadly-air-strike-girls-school-iran\" target=\"_blank\">sent a letter<\/a> to Hegseth earlier in the week demanding military officials conduct \u201ca swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to pursue accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The New York Times\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/11\/us\/politics\/iran-school-missile-strike.html\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a> the same day that an \u201congoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hegseth declined to say exactly what additional objectives President Donald Trump believes the military must accomplish before ending the bombing campaign he began alongside the Israeli government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe president has his hand on the throttle and will decide, ultimately, when they\u2019ve been reached that serve the purposes of the United States of America,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon on March 13, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN) WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of Defense announced Friday that six more American troops have died as a result of the war in Iran, bringing the total to 13 since the conflict began in late February.\u00a0 U.S. Central&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Six more US troops killed in Iran war, in crash of refueling aircraft - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Six more US troops killed in Iran war, in crash of refueling aircraft - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon on March 13, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN) WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of Defense announced Friday that six more American troops have died as a result of the war in Iran, bringing the total to 13 since the conflict began in late February.\u00a0 U.S. Central...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T18:01:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hegsethmarch132026-1024x593.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Six more US troops killed in Iran war, in crash of refueling aircraft\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-13T18:01:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\"},\"wordCount\":773,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hegsethmarch132026-1024x593-jzEHBy.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/six-more-us-troops-killed-in-iran-war-in-crash-of-refueling-aircraft\/\",\"name\":\"Six more US troops killed in Iran war, in crash of refueling aircraft - 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