Hegseth: “War is hell”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the loss of all six U.S. crew members aboard a KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq on Thursday during the ongoing operations against Iran, calling the service members "American heroes."

"War is hell. War is chaos," he said at a Pentagon press briefing Friday. "And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine said the incident, which remains under investigation, occurred over "friendly territory" and "was not the result of hostile or friendly fire."

"We're still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation," he said, adding that updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

"Our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them. It's a reminder of the true cost of the dedication and commitment of the joint force."

Separately Thursday, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford experienced an onboard fire in its main laundry area, resulting in "non-life-threatening injuries" to two sailors.

Seven U.S. service members have died from hostile fire since the war with Iran began late last month.

Six service members were killed on March 1 when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a port in Kuwait. Another service member wounded in a separate March 1 attack in Saudi Arabia died a week later from his injuries.