A pilot of the US military has been rescued by the American forces after an aircraft was shot down over Iran’s airspace, said officials on Friday, while adding that a search operation is still underway to save the other pilot. This is the first time the US military has lost an aircraft over the Iranian territory since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East in February.ย
Quoting officials, the CBS News reported that the downed American fighter jet was the 4.5 generation F-15E which is flown by a two-member crew. Iran International, quoting experts, also suggested that an F-15E has been shot down. On the contrary, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that the downed jet was a fifth generation F-35 aircraft.
President Donald Trump has also been briefed about the situation, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, but she did not provide any additional information. Meanwhile, the US military is yet to confirm the details about the jet. It must be mentioned here that the IRGC last month claimed that it had ‘targeted’ and ‘damaged’ an F-35. The US military had confirmed the jet had landed in friendly nation, adding that it was investigating about the incident.ย
Coming to the April 3 incident, photos and videos have gone viral on social media showing the downed American fighter jet. Many social media handles have also posted footage showing American aircraft, helicopters and drones conducting the search and rescue operation over the mountainous territory of Iran. However, the photos and videos cannot be independently verified by India TV Digital.
Iran’s hunt to capture downed US pilot
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have appealed to people to help the military in searching the pilot of the downed jet. They said that villagers in southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province will be commended if the pilot is captured alive or is killed.ย The Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province is a rural and mountainous region of Iran.
“Dear and honourable people of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus,” said an Iranian reporter on a channel, as reported by AFP.
The Iran war has entered its sixth week, with all sides continuing to target each other military infrastructure. The war has had severe repercussions for the global economy, with Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from where nearly 20 per cent of the world’s crude passes.ย
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran and said that the Islamic Republic must open the chokepoint, otherwise the American forces would keep targeting it. But Iran has stayed firmed and threatened the US against a ground invasion, saying the American military would be given a befitting response. It has also said it would keep targeting Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
ALSO READ – IRGC claims F-35, F-15E shot down; US pilot ejected and likely captured: Iranian media