U.S. military personnel have rescued the second crew member of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that was shot down in Iran. US President Donald Trump announced this on Sunday, April 5, on his Truth Social page.
According to Donald Trump, the servicemember was located in “a deep mountainous area of Iran” and “was injured while ejecting from the downed aircraft, but he will be fine.” According to sources cited by Fox News, the rescued American pilot and the rescue team have already left Iran.
Iranian air defense systems shot down the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet on April 3. Both crew members managed to eject from the damaged aircraft. The first pilot was rescued a few hours later, while the second was forced to hide for more than a day from Iranian forces in a mountain gorge, armed only with a pistol, according to The New York Times.
According to the publication, hundreds of special forces troops, as well as dozens of American combat aircraft and helicopters, were involved in the operation to rescue the second officer of the fighter jet.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also launched a search for the servicemember. U.S. forces carried out a number of strikes against IRGC units, preventing them from approaching the location where the injured crew member of the downed aircraft was hiding.
