The second crew member of a US plane that was shot down by Iran has been rescued in a military operation deep inside that country, President Donald Trump said on Sunday. “We got him”, Trump said in a post on Truth Social just after midnight. “I am thrilled to let you know is now safe and sound!”
The officer, who Trump said was a “highly respected colonel”, was on the F-15E Strike Eagle jet that was brought down by Iran on Friday. Both the crew on the jet on a mission over Iran ejected from it, and the pilot was rescued shortly afterwards in a search-and-rescue mission, while the search continued for the colonel.
US aircraft had intensified pounding of targets within Iran and on Thursday had destroyed a major bridge that was a major gateway to Tehran. Iran had put a bounty on the colonel, and if the officer had been captured, it would have been a bargaining point for Tehran.
Earlier on Saturday, while the search was on for the colonel, Trump, in a post, warned Iran that he would hit it hard if it did not open up the Strait of Hormuz. “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait. Time is running out -- 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to God”, he said on Truth Social.
The successful US operation deep inside Iran was also a test of the American ability to launch ground operations. “The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a single American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies”, he said.
Trump said that the “US Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him” from “behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran”. “He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine”, he said of the colonel, who was described by the media as a weapons officer.
Additionally, another US A-10 Warthog aircraft that may have been hit by Iranian fire crashed near the Gulf of Hormuz also on Friday, according to media reports, but the pilot was rescued after landing outside Iranian territory. Air crew carry beacons and communication devices to help locate them and stay in contact.
Several helicopters and other aircraft had been deployed in the search for the second officer, and troops landed in Iran to carry out the rescue. US sources that had received briefings were quoted by the media as saying that during the rescue operation, aircraft dropped bombs on Iranian forces heading towards the colonel.
A firefight also took place, the reports said. Reports said that a helicopter used to rescue the pilot had been damaged by Iranian fire but managed to fly out. Two days before the US jet was shot down, Trump had claimed in an address to the nation that Iran’s air defence systems had been totally destroyed.