A KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft of the U.S. Air Force crashed last night in Iraq, and the organization Al-Hashd-al-Shaabi claimed responsibility for the shootdown. As reported by the BBC, four American soldiers were killed and two were injured.
Confusion still prevails over the fall of the large air tanker.
The U.S. military’s Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East, announced that the aircraft crashed after an incident involving two planes in “friendly airspace”, and that the other aircraft landed safely.
It was stated that the fall of the KC-135 Stratotanker “was not the result of hostile fire or friendly fire”.
On the other hand, Al-Hashd-al-Shaabi, the Popular Mobilization Units, claim that the aircraft was shot down by their fighters with a “358” missile.
What the Popular Mobilization Forces are
The Popular Mobilization Forces are a paramilitary Shiite Iraqi group supported by Iran. They are officially part of the Iraqi armed forces, and report directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq, but operate independently from Baghdad and have sworn loyalty directly to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
The PMF consists of about 67 Shiite armed factions. They were united in 2014 to fight against the Islamic State and fought in all major battles in Iraq.
The main factions that belong to this alliance originate from the “Special Groups”, Shiite formations sponsored by Iran, which previously fought against the United States and coalition forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Missile “358”
The “358” missile, also known as SA-67, is a surface-to-air missile developed by Iran.
The first publicly known examples of the “358” missile were identified during a seizure on November 25, 2019, by the U.S. Navy in the Gulf of Aden.
According to the opinion of the UN panel of experts, it was determined that a significant amount of components for the missile is commercially available and was acquired through a series of fictitious companies.
The engine is a Titan AMT gas turbine produced by the company AMT Netherlands, while the inertial sensor module MTi-100 was identified as a product of the company Xsens Technologies.
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Source: Kurir; Foto: Printscreen X