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Rescue Effort Underway As Fueling Aircraft Crashes in Iraq – US Military
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The United States has acknowledged that one of its aircraft has crashed in western Iraq, amid the country’s joint war with Israel against Iran.
On Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations in the Middle East and parts of Asia, issued a brief statement announcing the aircraft’s crash and rescue efforts.
There was no immediate indication of deaths or survivors.
“U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft,” the statement said.
“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing.”
The statement suggested that the crash involved two planes, possibly colliding or engaging in close manoeuvres. The second plane, it said, “landed safely”.
“This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” the statement added.
However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane, announcing that it shot down a US Army KC-135 aircraft in western Iraq “with the appropriate weapon”.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, DC, said the information shared by CENTCOM is still vague on exactly what happened, despite announcing that the aircraft was not shot down by allies or enemies.
“It looks as if this may have been a refuelling attempt or operation, and then this air tanker went down,” she said.
“This is still a search and rescue mission for the crew, and at least three crew members are needed to pilot a KC-135 refueling air tanker,” our correspondent also said, adding that there might have been more personnel on board the aircraft.
Another 140 have been wounded overall, with Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell counting eight who face severe injuries.
Thursday’s crash is the latest to befall the US military since it began operations against Iran on February 28.
Already, three fighter jets were downed in an apparent friendly fire incident on March 1, just one day into the war.
CENTCOM explained that the jets, three F-15E Strike Eagles, were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences” during an active combat situation, as Iran issued retaliatory attacks across much of the Middle East.
In that incident, the six aircraft personnel on board the fighter jets ejected safely and were recovered in stable condition.
Still, the war against Iran has been unpopular among the US public, with polls showing it is the first conflict in recent decades to have a negative approval rating from the outset.
A survey released on March 9, for instance, from Quinnipiac University found that 53 percent of voters opposed the military offensive against Iran.
An even higher proportion, 74 percent, rejected the idea of starting ground operations, with “boots on the ground” for US troops.
Those findings were echoed by other polls. The research firm Ipsos, for example, found that a majority of Americans surveyed, 43 percent, disapproved of the US strikes, dwarfing the 29 percent who approved. The rest expressed uncertainty over whether they supported the military offensive.
The war against Iran has been divisive even among supporters of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly defended the military assault as necessary for US national security.
Prominent conservative personalities, like talk show host Tucker Carlson, have questioned that logic, though. Carlson even suggested Trump may have been misled by his advisers.
“He’s being shown polling that this war is like a 90-10 win for him,” Carlson said of Trump.
In an interview with ABC News, Carlson went so far as to call the war “absolutely disgusting and evil”.
Trump has responded by disavowing his critics, even those, like Carlson, who count themselves among his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. “MAGA is America First, and Tucker is none of those things,” Trump told ABC News.
But the president’s administration has struggled to make a public case for the war, citing an array of rationales for why military operations were necessary.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that a US attack was launched because “we knew there was going to be an Israeli action” against Iran, though he later backtracked on those comments.
In addition to the seven dead US military members, an estimated 1, 348 Iranians have been killed since the start of hostilities, as well as 15 Israelis. A further 17 people have died in nearby Gulf states, as violence spills across the region.
Source: Aljazeera
Headlines
Wike Begins Money-for-Vote Campaign, Dangles N10m Bounty for Abuja Councillors to Reelect Tinubu
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has introduced what observers view as a novel dimension to Nigeria’s electoral process as he sensationally promised a N10 million cash reward to every councillor who “delivers” his ward for President Bola Tinubu and All Progressives Congress candidates at the 2027 general election.
Wike made the declaration at a Rainbow Coalition stakeholders’ meeting in Kwali Area Council, attended by traditional rulers, political stakeholders and residents.
The minister, according to Channels TV, urged councillors to mobilise residents and community groups to guarantee victory for the APC in their wards, attaching a price tag to electoral success.
“Any councillor that delivers his ward will get N10 million reward. Therefore, go and meet your leaders, go and meet your youth groups, go and consult with associations. Let’s deliver our ward to Mr President,” Wike reportedly announced.
The statement has triggered concerns over vote-buying, inducement of grassroots officials and the weaponisation of public office to compromise the 2027 polls.
Critics argue that dangling N10 million per ward to elected councillors blurs the line between legitimate mobilisation and financial inducement, reducing the election to a transactional contest where delivery is rewarded in cash.
With months to the general elections, the promise raises fresh questions about whether the will of voters will count, or whether wards will be delivered through coercion, compromise and cash.
Observers warn that when councillors – the closest elected officials to the people – are placed on a bounty, the stage is set for intimidation of opponents, manipulation of results and rigging at the polling unit level.
The development is being seen as part of a growing pattern of desperation within the political class to secure victory at all costs, even if it means monetising the electoral process and compromising its integrity before the first ballot is cast.
The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has declined to endorse Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for another term as head of the National Assembly ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Yilwadta said he has no preferred candidate for the position, insisting that the decision would rest entirely with senators elected into the next National Assembly.
He made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
Asked whether the APC would return Akpabio as Senate President if he wins re-election, Yilwatda responded: “Let’s wait for the election first. I don’t have anybody in mind. The Senate will determine who they want to make the Senate President.”
His response comes despite growing support for Akpabio’s bid to retain the position beyond the current legislative term.
In October, senators publicly backed Akpabio’s return as President of the 11th Senate, with some lawmakers declaring that there would be no vacancy in the position.
Akpabio, who has led the Senate since June 2023, is seeking another term in the National Assembly.
However, Yilwatda’s remarks suggest that the APC leadership is not publicly committing itself to any candidate for the Senate presidency before the elections.
The Senate President is elected by members of the upper legislative chamber, meaning Akpabio would still need the support of his colleagues to retain the position even if he wins re-election.
During the same interview, Yilwatda also defended President Bola Tinubu’s physical fitness ahead of the 2027 presidential election and accused opposition parties of relying on blackmail during political campaigns.
The Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has warned Governor Chukwuma Soludo not to commit treachery against the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the name of politics.
Umeh pointedly warned Soludo that his unwarranted attacks on Peter Obi would lead to a fight.
The lawmaker issued the warning while speaking at an unnamed gathering in the State, which was captured in a viral video.
Umeh unapologetically said any Igbo person who refuses to vote for Obi is an enemy of the race.
“People are saying that we have to support another person; if we do that, we are destroying ourselves. I’m an Igbo activist, and you can hear my voice in the Senate on all issues of national importance and particularly those that affect the Igbo.
“Peter is our conscience in this election. Any Igbo man who stands up to say we will not vote for Peter Obi is an enemy of the Igbo people, no matter who the person is.
“Nobody can try it here; I have been hearing a lot of things going on in this State. This government; I helped in installing it; nobody came here to be Governor of Anambra State since 2003 without my input. This one that his serving; I was a principal contributor to his ascending that office; he is holding that office in trust for all of us.
“Anything he does in that office, he must discharge it with honour and nobility, and it’s not by sabotaging our own brother.
“I’m saying it so that anybody who sees him can tell me that we don’t want to fight, but he should not commit what is called an abomination by wanting to destroy his brother in the name of politics.
“Nobody on the side is saying support Peter Obi. Everybody on the other side is saying support Tinubu. But we are saying let us stand for the truth. Peter Obi; this is the time, and if he makes it, the Igbo have made it.”
