WORLD NEWS – Downed U.S. airmen rescued from Iran after surviving more than 24 hours in hostile territory

By Renae Hefty

Two American airmen were rescued after their F-15E Strike Eagle jet was shot down over Southwest Iran on Friday. The pilot was rescued hours after the crash, but the weapons officer, an air force colonel, could not be found by either the U.S. or Iranian forces. The CIA issued false reports that the officer had already been rescued in an effort to confuse Iranian officials and convince them the officer was being escorted out of the country by a ground envoy. According to President Donald Trump, the weapons officer was seriously injured and had to hide in a mountain crevice to wait for help. He had nothing more than a pistol to protect himself.

The officer was rescued Saturday night. The Pentagon initiated the rescue operation with information from the CIA and hundreds of special forces troops and military personnel contributed to the operation. U.S. aircraft bombed Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area where the downed officer was, but the two forces did not engage in a firefight. At one point, the officer had to hike a up a 7,000-foot reidgeline. Rescue planes flew the officer to Kuwait for medical treatment. President Trump and a senior U.S. military official said the rescue team didn’t sustain any casualties. An A-10 Warthog went down shortly after the F-15E while attempting to rescue the F-15E crew. The Warthog pilot safely ejected over friendly territory. This was the first F-15E Strike Eagle lost to enemy fire during the war. Trump claimed the successful rescue of the F-15E weapons officer was proof that Iran’s defense forces had been weakened.