In a statement, it said: \u201cUS Central Command is aware of the loss of a US KC-135 refuelling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Islamic Resistance, based in Iraq but backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the crash, saying it had acted \u201cin defence of our country\u2019s sovereignty and airspace\u201d.<\/p>\n
The KC-135 became at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war with Iran after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.<\/p>\n
Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed the three American F-15E fighters early in the conflict, but all six crew members were able to eject.<\/p>\n
Since the war began on Feb 28, seven US servicemen have been killed and more than 140 injured.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, Emmanuel Macron announced that a French soldier was killed in a drone attack on Iraq\u2019s Erbil region. Several others were injured.<\/p>\n
The French president named Arnaud Frion, a chief warrant officer, as the deceased and described the attacks by Islamic State as \u201cunacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism,\u201d he wrote on social media. \u201cThe war in Iran cannot justify such attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Operation Epic Fury, the name given to Donald Trump\u2019s US-led airstrikes in Iran, was \u201cthe largest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation\u201d, the central command previously said.<\/p>\n