Srilanka, March 14 -- All six members of a US military refuelling aircraft's crew have now been confirmed dead after it crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command (Centcom) has said.

The US initially said it had located four of the deceased crew. It said neither hostile nor friendly fire were involved in the loss of the KC-135 aircraft on Thursday.

The tanker had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran and was one of two aircraft involved in the incident. The second landed safely.

The Boeing-manufactured aircraft are capable of refuelling planes midair and play a major role in US military operations. They were used extensively in the first Gulf War to extend the range of fighter jets and bombers.

Centcom said the incident...