March 15 (UPI) -- The Department of Defense has identified the six U.S. service members killed during a refueling mission as part of the Iran war as three members of an Air Force refueling wing and three from the Ohio Air National Guard.
The six crew members were aboard a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker -- a refueling aircraft -- when it crashed Thursday in western Iraq, which was considered friendly airspace.
Among the dead were four airmen assigned to the 6th Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.: Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ga.; Capt. Ariana G. Sabino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky. The three were part of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron based out of Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham, Ala.
Shortly after their identities were made public, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey offered her condolences on X.
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