DeWine: Ohioans among 6 US troops killed after military refueling tanker crashes

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that three of the six U.S. servicemembers killed during a refueling mission in Iraq were with the Ohio Air National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing.

"Fran and I are deeply saddened by this news and offer our sincere condolences to their families," the governor said.

The U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost over Iraq on Thursday, killing all six people on board, U.S. Central Command said.

Central Command said the identities of the six crew members would not be released until 24 hours after families are notified.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said Friday the crew members were on a combat mission over "friendly" territory, and the incident was not due to either hostile or friendly fire.

The incident involved two aircraft that were participating in Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S. offensive against Iran.

The incident took place in friendly airspace, CENTCOM said. The second plane involved was able to land safely. An Associated Press source said the second plane involved was also a KC-135 tanker.

"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," Central Command said.

The tanker is the fourth U.S. plane to go down since the war against Iran began. Last week, U.S. ally Kuwait mistakenly downed three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets. All six crew members aboard those jets ejected and were recovered.