FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
US forces have found the pilot who was aboard the plane that crashed in Iran on Friday.
The US and Iran were engaged in a "race" to find the pilot, the former to save its officer, the latter to have a bargaining chip in hand for negotiations with its rivals.
For this reason, yesterday, Saturday, as broadcast by Iranian television, Iran had put a reward for the pilot, offering $60,000 to anyone who finds him and delivers him alive to the Iranian authorities.
According to the statement: “Military forces have launched a search operation for the American pilot who was shot down earlier today. Dear and honorable citizens of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus.”
However, US forces managed to arrive first to find it, after a select US military team had been sent to Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, where the plane crashed, "combing" the difficult area.
The pilot's rescue was reported by three US officials to Axios, while two others confirmed it to Reuters.
At the same time, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt also made a similar post, praising Trump and the American soldiers who carried out the rescue operation. "Proud of our troops. Proud of our President. Proud to be an American," she wrote on X.
US MQ-9 Reaper drones protected the crew member by striking Iranian soldiers believed to be a threat who came within three kilometers of the pilot of the aircraft, a person familiar with the operation told Air & Space Forces magazine.
The mission also involved American fighter jets. Two Air Force MC-130J Special Operations aircraft that participated in the operation were blown up on the ground by American forces.
Video purportedly shows locals and security forces mobilizing to the site where the rescue is allegedly ongoing pic.twitter.com/zlDXj1cMjn
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) April 4, 2026
According to Axios, the pilot was rescued several hours after the F-15 crashed, while it took the US military more than a day to find and rescue the second crew member.
Earlier, sources on Iranian social media and state media reported fierce clashes between US forces and Iranian troops, including local units of the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Both forces identified the American F-15E pilot, who was ejected from the aircraft, as hiding in the mountains and search operations were conducted by both sides.
The attack on the American F-15E fighter jet was the first major loss of an American aircraft within the country since the start of the war in the Middle East on February 28.
The aircraft had a crew of two: a pilot and a weapons officer in the back seat. One of the two was rescued within the first hours of the crash.
Iran also shot down a second American fighter jet, an A-10 Warthog, in Kuwait, carrying a person who was rescued by activating an ejection seat.
Ky lajm na gezon shume dhe tregon qe Amerikanet si dhe Britaniket nuk i lene kurre ne balte bijte e nenave Amerikane. Morali e integriteti Amerikan nuk mund te erresohet nga nje teveqel.