US Special Forces Pull Second F-15 Crew Member Out of Iran
With the recovery now complete, both crew members have been accounted for and brought to safety.
The high-stakes mission played out across southwest Iran, where US forces and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were simultaneously racing to reach the missing American officer. One US official told Axios the extraction was executed by an elite commando team operating under the cover of extensive air support, and that all American personnel involved have since cleared Iranian territory.
Two sources said both the pilot and the weapons systems officer were able to maintain communication with rescuers after ejecting from the stricken aircraft. The pilot had been recovered within hours of the jet being shot down, while the second crew member remained missing for more than a day before being located and pulled out.
US special forces were inserted into Iran on both Friday and Saturday as part of the search-and-rescue effort. Once the second crew member was located Saturday, American forces moved swiftly to extract him — but IRGC units were simultaneously converging on the area, apparently in a bid to intercept the mission. US Air Force aircraft subsequently struck Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the site.
Complications emerged in the operation's final stages. The New York Times reported that after the weapons systems officer was secured, two transport aircraft assigned to evacuate the commandos and airmen became stranded at a remote base inside Iran. Commanders responded by dispatching three replacement aircraft to complete the evacuation, and the disabled planes were deliberately destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
US President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration tracked the mission in real time from the White House Situation Room.
The rescue operation was not without cost. During Friday's effort to recover the pilot, an Iranian strike hit a US Black Hawk helicopter actively participating in the mission. Several personnel aboard sustained injuries, though the helicopter remained airborne and was able to continue flying.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
