A US military refuelling plane has crashed in Iraq. Four of the six crew members are confirmed dead. An Iran-backed group in Iraq has claimed responsibility, according to Reuters. Yet unverified rumours of a midair collision are circulating.

Open source account Osint Defender posted an image of the surviving KC-135 Stratotanker at an airport in Israel. The image appeared to show damage to the aircraft’s tail:

Photos of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, at what appears to be Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel (note the car’s license plate), with visible damage to the tail have emerged following the crash of a KC-135 due to a mid-air collision with another Stratotanker… pic.twitter.com/c9SLUnDSMQ

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

US officials have denied the crash was due to enemy fire:

Two aircraft were involved in the incident One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

Press discipline

Meanwhile UK press discipline is fully intact. Numerous outlets uncritically quoted defence secretary John Healy’s claim that Russia was secretly supporting Iran after an attack on foreign bases in Iraq.

The Guardian, Mirror, Sky, Huffpost UK and the BBC (plus various international outlets) all leant heavily on the term ‘hidden hand’ from Healey’s speech on 12 March.

The Guardian, for example, said:

Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.

They also cited a UK general:

Lt Gen Nick Perry, the chief of joint operations, told Healey as he visited the UK’s military command centre in Northwood it appeared that Russia had since passed back tactical advice to Iran and its proxies on how to deploy them.

No firm evidence of hands (hidden or otherwise) was produced from what the Canary can see. One of the bases struck in Iraq houses UK special forces troops, it was reported. A French army officer seems to have been killed in the same  attack – or series of attacks – in Iraq:

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the death of Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion from Varces-Allières-et-Risset, serving with the 7th Battalion of the French Army’s elite Chasseurs Alpins, following an Iranian drone attack earlier tonight against a joint base near… pic.twitter.com/QQCWTz7smT

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

Media analysts Media Lens said:

Ramping up the Orwellian propaganda:

Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ and ‘Russian tactics’.

‘UK defence secretary says’

The Guardian performing its usual state-friendly role by pumping out this MoD press release. https://t.co/Se1pvPhbCP pic.twitter.com/bVHxlUgriI

— Media Lens (@medialens) March 12, 2026

This sort of reporting is fast becoming a habit. On 7 March, the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times claimed the drone which hit a UK base in Cyprus on 1 March contained a Russian component. They did so without presenting any evidence or even stating who had told them.

Clearly, Iran and Russia are allies and exchange tactics and technology – as do the US and UK. What this looks like – given no evidence has been presented – is manufacturing consent around Russia, rather in the style of George W. Bush’s 2003 ‘axis of evil’ rhetoric. The Canary, however, likes to see some receipts before uncritically parroting UK government claims.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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