Missing US airman rescued after fighter jet downed in Iran: Report

By Yi Wei Wong

 

US forces have rescued an airman who went missing after Iran downed an American fighter jet in the country, Axios reported, citing three unidentified US officials. 

 

The rescue operation for the crew member of the F-15E fighter jet was conducted by a “specialised commando unit with a high volume of air cover,” the report said, citing one of the officials. All the forces have left Iran, Axios said. 

 

The jet carrying two people was shot down on Friday, and the other crew member had been rescued earlier, according to an American official, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. Iranian media reported Tehran had offered a reward of about $66,000 to citizens who captured the missing airman alive.

 

The downing of a US aircraft and the dayslong search for the missing crew member had pierced the aura of invincibility that President Donald Trump has sought to project as he tries to stave off the increasing political risks of the Iran war he started five weeks ago alongside Israel.

 

Trump has repeatedly claimed dominance over Iranian airspace and used maximalist rhetoric to suggest the US has won and that Iran’s military capability has been eliminated in an effort to calm markets and an American public that is strongly opposed to the war. Analysts have said the downing of the jet cast doubt on Trump’s claim of air supremacy over Iran.