The mission was high risk, with US C-130s and rescue helicopters flying low and slow over Iran’s mountainous terrain to locate the missing airman, who served as the weapons systems officer on the Air Force F-15E jet.
As the search was ongoing, Iranian television broadcast a statement offering a reward for the recovery of the downed crew members.
Another broadcast called on residents to “target” any Americans they found. IRIB, the state broadcaster, said on social media that “many people” had gone to the crash site and that the Iranian military had “called on the people NOT TO LET anyone mistreat the pilot”.
Around the same time that the fighter jet was shot down, an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane was struck by incoming fire from Iran.
Before ejecting, the pilot was able to get the aircraft to Kuwaiti airspace and was also rescued.
In addition, two of the rescue helicopters that had been searching for the missing F-15 crew member took ground fire by Iran during the operation.
Some of the service members on board were injured, but all returned safely to base, US officials earlier told the Washington Post.
The incident marked the first known instance of an American crewed aircraft being brought down inside hostile territory since the US and Israel started the war on Iran five weeks ago.
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