An injured U.S. Airman showcased incredible resilience by eluding capture in perilous mountain terrain for a grueling 36 hours before being rescued by Navy SEAL commandos from Iranian forces.
The Airman, a colonel, was left with only a pistol for defense after being wounded during an ejection from his F-15 fighter jet, which was downed over southern Iran on Friday.
Trapped deep in hostile territory yet still mobile, he navigated a 7,000-foot ridgeline while U.S. aircraft provided cover, dropping bombs and firing to deter an advancing Iranian convoy.
As enemy troops closed in, the U.S. military executed a bold nighttime extraction, earning accolades from Donald Trump, who praised the operation as a ‘miraculous’ success.
“WE GOT HIM!” the U.S. President announced triumphantly on his Truth Social platform.
Trump assured that although the officer had sustained injuries, his recovery was anticipated to be positive.
Tehran had placed a £50,000 bounty on the weapons systems officer’s head and was in a race with the US to locate the missing airman.
The pilot of the jet was rescued within 45 minutes of the plane going down over treacherous mountain terrain.
The pilot was rescued within 45 minutes of the plane going down over treacherous mountain terrain in southern Iran. Pictured: An ejector seat from the downed fighter plane
US officials had feared the missing crewman would be used as a human bargaining chip. Pictured: Armed Iranian tribesmen search for the missing US airman
A source close to the President had told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Everything is being thrown at finding the missing airman.
‘We have special forces in the area and the might of the entire US military is in this hunt.
‘The fear is he will be captured and used as a pawn. We need to find him before the Iranians and bring him home.’
An Israeli security official revealed today how Israel had provided the US with intelligence and helped halt Iran’s attacks during the rescue operation.
Two of the planes meant to transport the airman and his rescuers to safety were stuck in a remote base in Iran and had to be destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands, the New York Times and CBS reported.
US forces then used three other transport planes to carry the airman and his rescuers out of Iran.
Trump said the airman was ‘never truly alone’ as his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and ‘fellow Warfighters’ were monitoring his location ’24 hours a day’.
‘At my direction, the US Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him,’ he said.
The airman’s extraction followed a US search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an ‘enemy pilot’.
Iranian state media released images of the search and rescue planes which it claimed it shot down, though the US military says it ‘blew up’ themselves
‘This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,’ Trump said.
Today, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of American aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising into the air.
The broadcaster said Iran had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.
However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the US military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.
The Iranian military said on Sunday the US operation to rescue the airman had used an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province.
‘The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled,’ said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the Iranian military’s central command.
Zolfaghari also said two US ‘C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed’.
The CIA reportedly launched a deception campaign to spread word inside Iran that US forces were moving the airman out of the country on the ground.
Iranian leaders encouraged people to head to the area to capture the American but warned: ‘Do not mistreat him’. Pictured: Wreckage of the downed plane posted online by Tehran, left, and the logo normally on the tail of this type of aircraft, right
A US Black Hawk helicopter involved in the search for the missing crewman was hit by ground fire but landed safely. Pictured: Iranian police appearing to shoot at US rescue crews
In his post, Trump also confirmed the ‘successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday,’ adding it was not disclosed to avoid jeopardising the second rescue mission.
‘WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!’ he wrote.
‘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.
‘This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!’
