US Defence Secretary Says War is Like Hell After Four Soldiers Die in Iraq

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the deaths of four American military personnel following the crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft in western Iraq. Hegseth described war as “hell” during a Pentagon press conference on Friday, 13 March 2026.

“War is hell. War is chaos. And as we saw yesterday with the tragic accident of our KC-135 tanker aircraft, bad things can happen,” Hegseth stated, according to CNN.

“American heroes, all of them. And as I have done with them all, as we have done, we will welcome those heroes at Dover and their sacrifice will only strengthen our commitment to this mission,” he added.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine also commented on the incident, noting that it occurred in allied territory in western Iraq whilst the aircraft crew was conducting a combat mission. According to CENTCOM, the crash was not caused by enemy or allied fire.

“We are still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation,” Caine explained.

CENTCOM announced on Friday that rescue efforts continue for two additional crew members who remain missing from the KC-135 Stratotanker. The circumstances of the Thursday crash remain under investigation.

The KC-135 Stratotanker, an air-to-air refuelling aircraft, crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, 12 March, local time. CENTCOM reported that six crew members were aboard the aircraft, with four confirmed dead.