Exact moment when Iran shot down a US A-10 fighter jet near the Strait of Hormuz during a time of high conflict | Video

Al Jazeera said that the Iranian military said on Saturday that its troops successfully targeted and shot down a US A-10 plane. This claim comes after reports from different news sources that a second US Air Force combat plane crashed in the Middle East on Friday. These events, along with the rise in military activity, have made things much more tense in the area.

Even though Iranian sources gave a lot of specific information, neither the Pentagon nor the White House gave a "immediate comment" on the status of the plane or the truth of the claims.

According to other reports from Al Jazeera that quote the Tasnim news agency, the alleged shooting down of the US A-10 plane happened near the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route that is still a source of tension in the region.

The report said that "the aircraft was targeted in waters south of and around the strategic waterway," citing the army's public relations team.

"While these claims have not been confirmed by outside sources, technical specifications say that the "A-10 is a US ground-attack aircraft designed for close air support missions," which are meant to be used "particularly against armored vehicles and ground forces."

According to CNN, American troops have successfully rescued a crew member from a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that was shot down over Iran.

The person who was rescued is said to be alive, in US custody, and getting medical care. However, the fate of the second crew member is still unknown because "search and rescue operations were ongoing."

Reports say that the downed F-15E, a dual-role plane usually flown by a two-person team, was targeted on Friday. CNN's study of pictures released by Iranian media confirmed that the wreckage is from an F-15. The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, used Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, which was the first to report the incident and shared a map on X showing the area where the search for the two pilots has been going on.

CNN has geolocated footage from Khuzestan Province that shows low-flying planes in a formation that is typical of air-to-air refueling operations. However, the exact crash site has not yet been confirmed.

This is the first time a US plane has been shot down over Iran since the start of the current conflict. Pictures of debris, including a tail fin, seemed to show that the jet belonged to the 494th Fighter Squadron, which is based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK. Even though there is evidence of the wreckage and the search is still going on, the US military and the White House have not yet made any official statements about what happened in the crash.