A tragic incident in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of six American service members after a refueling aircraft crashed on Thursday. The U.S. Central Command has confirmed the fatalities, initially announcing four deaths, and clarified that the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire, taking place in a friendly airspace. This incident raises the number of American military casualties in the ongoing conflict with Iran to 13. Meanwhile, the second aircraft involved in the collision managed to land safely, sustaining only minor tail damage.

Central Command released a statement indicating that an investigation is underway to determine the details surrounding this unfortunate accident. The identities of the deceased service members are being withheld until their families have been notified. This tragedy follows the commencement of Operation Epic Fury at the end of February, during which the United States reported that six American troops were killed by Iranian drone strikes on a U.S. facility in Kuwait, following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Another American service member succumbed to injuries from an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia, further increasing the toll. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump acknowledged to the Daily Mail that more American troops would likely die in the conflict with Iran. At the time of his statement, the confirmed casualties stood at three. Recently, the Pentagon disclosed that 140 service members have been injured in the conflict thus far, though many of these injuries have been classified as minor and have since been resolved.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth struck a victorious tone during Friday’s press briefing. ‘Iran has no air defenses. Iran has no Air Force. Iran has no Navy,’ Hegseth insisted to a room full of reporters at the Pentagon. ‘Their missiles, their missile launchers, and drones—are being destroyed or shot out of the sky. Their missiles volume is down 90 percent.’ He insisted that the US is on track to ‘defeat, destroy and disable’ Iran’s military. Still the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows, remains under siege despite Hegseth telling claiming during Friday’s press briefing that Americans ‘don’t need to worry about it.’

Gas prices have hit $3.60 per gallon on average in the US, up from $2.90 before the war, according to AAA. The Pentagon chief was furious at Friday’s press briefing that Iran continues to fire at ships trying to pass through the waterway that flows out of the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman. ‘That’s not a Strait we’re going to allow to remain contested with a lack of flow of commercial goods,’ he assured. Trump flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware last week for the dignified transfer of the service members returning back to US soil in caskets.

The six Americans who were killed during the second day of conflict were Army reservists with the 103rd Sustainment Command based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Nicole Amor, 39, Cody Khork, 35, Declan Coady, 20, Robert Marzan, 54, Jeffrey O’Brien, 45 and Noah Tietjens, 42, died in the war. The seventh US service member killed in the war was identified as Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. He was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, in Fort Carson, Colorado. Details on the recent six deceased is expected to be released in the next 24 hours.

‘They’re great people,’ the president said of the deceased on his call with the Daily Mail this month. ‘And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous – it could happen again.’ Hegseth on Friday dared new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to appear on camera amid rumors he is ‘disfigured’ or even dead, which were only fueled by an Iranian TV anchor reading out a statement on state TV on Thursday rather than the new Supreme Leader appearing himself. ‘Iran’s leadership is in no better shape,’ Hegseth claimed. ‘Desperate and hiding they have gone underground, cowering. That’s what rats do.’

‘We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,’ he added. Meanwhile, Iran is claiming the country and its leadership persists. Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani marched with crowds in Tehran demonstrating against Israel on the last day of Ramadan. He taunted Trump, claiming the US President ‘didn’t realize’ Iran is ‘mature and determined’. Iran launched fresh attacks on Dubai’s International Finance Centre as explosions rocked the city with thick smoke rising above its skyline. Trump, however, claims that Operation Epic Fury’s timeline is ‘way ahead of schedule,’ and during a Kentucky rally on Wednesday declared the war already won.