A rescue mission was activated after a US refuelling plane crashed down to earth in Iraq this dawn following a suspected mid-air collision.
Iraq became the main theatre of war in the Middle East on Wednesday as one drone attack killed a French soldier in the country and another hit British special forces.
As the conflict headed into a 13th day, an American plane involved in the military operation against Iran ‘went down’ in western Iraq, with no suggestion of hostile or friendly fire.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, revealed two aircraft were involved in the incident, with one described as ‘a loss’.
One of the planes was a KC-135 tanker, a refuelling craft that needs at least a three-person crew to operate, according to a US official.
Sources told the Daily Mail the second aircraft landed in Israel.
Events in Iraq also threatened to pull Britain and France into the conflict after days of practising a defensive strategy.
A French soldier was killed in an attack on a joint base in Iraqi Kurdistan, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday.
The strike on the headquarters – which France shares with Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces – involved two drones and injured five more troops.
Meanwhile, Iranian drone attacks targeted a British Special Forces base in Iraq earlier in the day.
The ‘hidden hand’ of Vladimir Putin was blamed for directing strikes against military headquarters and helping co-ordinate Iran’s military operations.
