Even though the United States (US) managed to rescue the second crew member of the downed F-15E Strike Eagle, Iran said on Sunday that it was able to shoot down multiple aircraft of the American military, including a couple of Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport aircraft. It further said that the rescue operation led to the death of at least five persons in southwestern Iran.
However, it didn't clarify whether those killed were civilians or military personnel. A drone belonging to the Israeli forces was also downed, the Iranian military said, claiming that the rescue operation had "failed".
"The enemy's intruding aircrafts in southern Isfahan -- including two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport aircraft -- were struck and are now burning," the military's central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said.
Iran's media shares photos
The Iranian state media also shared photographs of the wreckage of the American aircraft that were spread across a desert. In the photos, smoke could also been seen rising from the wreckage. Earlier on Friday, it had also shared images and videos of local residents who were carrying rifles and Iranian flag looking for the pilot.
The US military has not confirmed the aircraft losses and is yet to respond to the Iranian claims, though.
Trump says operation was 'daring'
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump described the operation as 'daring'. Though Trump did not reveal the identity of the rescued officer, he said the personnel is a "highly respected" colonel. He said though the officer was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran and was being hunted, he was never really alone "because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day".
On his instructions, Trump said the US military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. The officer has sustained some injuries, but he will recover soon, Trump said.
"This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation," he said. "This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!"
The downed US jet
It all started on Friday when Iran claimed that it has shot down a fighter aircraft of the US. Later, it was revealed that the jet was an F-15E Strike Eagle, which is a 4.5 generation, twin-seat aircraft. The US later launched a massive rescue operation, rescuing one of the two crew members on Saturday.
However, Iran claimed that the rescue operation resulted in the loss of two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport aircraft. Another aircraft, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft, was also shot down by Iran during this. The Iranian military also announced an award for anyone killing or capturing the downed pilot.
