6 U.S. Airmen Killed in Iraq Plane Crash Identified as Iran War Death Toll Reaches 13

Since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, 12 active service members have been killed in combat, with a 13th dying of a medical issue. The latest losses came Thursday when a KC-135 refueling plane crashed in Iraq during war operations. The six Air Force crew members were identified as Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28. The KC-135 Stratotanker, which costs nearly $40 million each, has served as a key refueling aircraft for over 60 years. Klinner had logged 181 combat hours across four deployments; Savino had 348 combat hours across three deployments; Pruitt logged over 2,700 flight hours across five deployments; Koval flew 443 combat hours and over 2,000 total hours across five deployments; Angst flew 860 total hours and 67 combat hours; and Simmons logged 770 flight hours and 230 combat hours. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the crew "American heroes." Kuwait also mistakenly shot down three U.S. fighter jets, though no crew members died.