The United States has rescued a pilot whose F-15 aircraft was shot down in Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.
Operation details
A U.S. official told Axios that “the operation was carried out by a specialized commando unit with heavy air cover, and all forces have left Iran.”
According to Axios, U.S. special forces were deployed on the ground in Iran on Friday and again on Saturday as part of the search-and-rescue mission.
The report indicated that the second crew member’s location was identified on Saturday, and the rescue operation began while the Revolutionary Guards dispatched forces to prevent it.
Axios reported that U.S. Air Force planes launched strikes on Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area.
According to the same source, U.S. President Donald Trump and senior members of his team monitored the rescue operation from the White House Situation Room.
Sources said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard attempted to reach the missing pilot, adding that the U.S. operation involved extensive gunfire.
Hundreds of special operations forces
In this context, The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that all forces involved in the rescue mission safely exited Iranian airspace.
Fox News reported that the crew member climbed to a high point after leaving the wreckage and activated an emergency distress signal.
The New York Times reported that the rescue mission involved hundreds of special operations forces and dozens of warplanes and helicopters.
A military official told the newspaper that “the rescue mission was one of the most challenging and complex in the history of special operations.”
A source told The New York Times that the American pilot used highly encrypted secure communication devices to coordinate with the commando teams.
The New York Times, citing a source, revealed that two American transport planes malfunctioned at a remote base in Iran during the rescue mission.
The source explained that “orders were given to destroy the malfunctioning planes on Iranian soil to prevent their capture.”
According to The New York Times, U.S. attack aircraft dropped bombs and fired on Iranian convoys to keep them away from the area where the pilot was hiding.
It was noted that “as U.S. forces approached the downed pilot’s location, an armed clash occurred,” adding, “after rescuing the officer, two transport planes were stranded at a remote base in Iran, and three new planes were sent to evacuate all U.S. military personnel, and they destroyed the malfunctioning planes.”
Donald Trump (AFP).
Trump's comment
Commenting on the operation, Trump said that “the U.S. military conducted one of the boldest search-and-rescue operations in American history.”
He added, “The U.S. military sent dozens of aircraft armed with the most lethal weapons in the world to retrieve one of our crew officers,” continuing, “this brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies.”
Trump said that “one crew member was injured but will be fine,” and noted that “the officer who was rescued is a colonel and is now safe and sound after being chased through the mountains of Iran.”
He continued, “I directed the deployment of dozens of aircraft equipped with the most lethal weapons to secure the pilot’s extraction from behind enemy lines,” emphasizing that “this is the first time in military memory that American pilots have been rescued separately deep within enemy territory.”
Trump stated that “carrying out the operations once again proves our overwhelming dominance and air superiority in the Iranian skies.”
On the other side, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that “last night we shot down an American drone south of Isfahan that was helping in the search for the missing American pilot.”
The pilot was the second crew member of a two‑person F‑15 aircraft that Iran said its air defenses had shot down on Friday.
Reuters reported on Friday the rescue of the first crew member.
مسنجر
واتساب
ثريدز
بريد إلكتروني
الطباعة
