Tehran:Officials said on Friday that American forces had rescued a pilot from the US military after an aircraft was shot down over Iran's airspace. They also said that a search operation is still going on to save the other pilot. Since the Middle East conflict began in February, this is the first time the US military has lost a plane over Iran.
According to officials,
CBS Newssaid that the American fighter jet that crashed was the 4.5 generation F-15E, which has a crew of two.
Iran InternationalIt also said, quoting experts, that an F-15E has been shot down. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says the downed jet was a fifth-generation F-35.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump has also been briefed on the situation, but she did not give any more details. The US military has not yet confirmed the details about the jet, though. It should be noted that last month the IRGC said it had "targeted" and "damaged" an F-35. The US military confirmed that the jet had landed in a friendly country and said it was looking into what happened.
As for the April 3 incident, pictures and videos of the crashed American fighter jet have gone viral on social media. A lot of social media accounts have also posted videos of American planes, helicopters, and drones doing the search and rescue operation in Iran's mountainous area. But no one can independently check the photos and videos.
Online.
Iran's search for the downed US pilotIn the meantime, Iranian officials have asked people to help the military find the pilot of the jet that went down. They said that villagers in southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province will be praised if they catch the pilot alive or dead.Iran's Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province is a rural and mountainous area.
Iranian news reported that an Iranian reporter on a channel said, "Dear and honorable 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."
The war in Iran has been going on for six weeks now, and all sides are still attacking each other's military bases. The war has had a big effect on the world economy. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which is a shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman where almost 20% of the world's crude oil passes through.
President Donald Trump of the United States has warned Iran that it must open the chokepoint, or else American forces will keep attacking it. Iran, on the other hand, has stood firm and warned the US against invading its territory, saying that the US military would get a fitting response. It has also said that it will keep attacking US and Israeli bases in the Middle East.
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