Five US service members have been killed on a routine training mission after the military aircraft carrying them suffered a “mishap” and crashed into the sea.
The military personnel were taking part in a routine air refuelling mission in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday as part of their training, the US defence department confirmed on Sunday.
The tragedy was reported by the United States European Command (USEUCO), which handles American military operations in Europe and parts of the Middle East.
It said in a statement: “All five of the service members on board the aircraft were killed.”
Search and rescue teams were deployed immediately after the incident, including nearby US military aircraft and ships.
An investigation into the crash is now under way.
“We can definitively say that the aircraft sortie was purely related to training and there are no indications of hostile activity,” the USEUCO statement said.
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The identities of the deceased crew members will not be released for 24 hours while officials inform their next of kin, “out of respect for the affected families” and in accordance with the US Department of Defence policy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen,” USEUCO added.
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The US military has deployed two aircraft carriers – the Ford and the Eisenhower – together with their supporting ships and dozens of aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean since the deadly Hamas attack in Israel on 7 October, to act as a deterrent in the hope the conflict does not expand.
The tragedy was confirmed as people across the US prepared to mark Veteran’s Day – known as Armistice Day in the UK – on Saturday.
It is not yet clear what military service the aircraft belonged to.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill were mourning the loss of the five service members.
Image: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Washington Pic: AP
‘Servicemen represent the best of America’
“Our service members put their lives on the line for our country every day,” he said.
“They willingly take risks to keep the American people safe and secure.
“And their daily bravery and selflessness is an enduring testament to what is best in our nation.”
Mr Biden said he and his wife were praying for the families and friends who have “lost a precious loved one – a piece of their soul”.
“Our entire nation shares their grief,” he added.
“And, during this weekend when we pause to honour our nation’s veterans, we once more affirm the sacred obligation we bear to those who volunteer to serve our nation as well as their families, caregivers, and survivors.
“We pray for the families of all our fallen warriors today and every day.”
US secretary of defence, Lloyd J Austin III, said the servicemen “represent the best of America”.
“While we continue to gather more information about this deadly crash, it is another stark reminder that the brave men and women who defend our great nation put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our country safe.
“We will remember their service and their sacrifice.
“My prayers are with the patriots we have lost today and their families, loved ones, and teammates.”
Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies.
Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.
Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.
He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.
Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.
People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.
People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”
Image: Pic: AP
Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.
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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
US vice president JD Vance has met with Pope Francis.
The “quick and private” meeting took place at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City, sources told Sky News.
The meeting came amid tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration over the US president’s crackdown on migrants and cuts to international aid.
No further details have been released on the meeting between the vice president and the Pope, who has been recovering following weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.
Mr Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The Vatican said there had been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants and prisoners.
According to a statement, the two sides had “cordial talks” and the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.
“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the statement said.
Francis has previously called the Trump administration’s deportation plans a “disgrace”.
Mr Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the immigration crackdown.
The pope rebutted the theological concept Mr Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Mr Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the US.
“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,” the Pope said in the letter.
Mr Vance has acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he would continue to defend his views. During an appearance in late February at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he did not address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were “things about the faith that I don’t know”.
While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for the pontiff’s recovery.