Florida, March 13 -- The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday confirmed that all six crew members aboard the US KC-135 refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq on March 12 have died.

According to a statement by the US CENTCOM, the aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury. The circumstances surrounding the crash are under investigation, but officials confirmed that the incident was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire.

"The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," the statement read....