An Air Force KC-135 tanker crashed on Friday in northern Kyrgyzstan, announced officials with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Transit Center at Manas near Bishkek in the Central Asian nation. The status of the three crewmembers is unknown, they said in a release. Emergency response crews are on scene, they said. The tanker and crew are assigned to Manas, which is a major air hub for sustaining coalition operations in Afghanistan.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.