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Rescue Effort Underway As Fueling Aircraft Crashes in Iraq – US Military
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
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
