U.S. KC-135 Refueling Aircraft Downed in Western Iraq; Second Stratotanker Damaged but Recovers to Israel

A U.S. KC-135 Stratotanker has been confirmed lost in western Iraq with 6 crew members aboard, rescue ongoing. A second KC-135 was damaged but recovered to Israel. Iraqi resistance factions claim a P-358 SAM was used. The incident is the most significant confirmed U.S. aircraft loss of the Iran conflict and requires immediate reassessment of tanker routing over Iraqi airspace. Coalition forces at Erbil face elevated threat from coordinated drone and missile attack.