The search for an American pilot, who went missing behind enemy lines in Iran, has intensified with the deployment of two rescue helicopters and armed tribesmen scouring the desert landscape. The pilot vanished after being forced to eject from an F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seater aircraft, which was shot down on Friday over the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province near the Iraq border.
As the mission entered its second day on Saturday, efforts to locate the pilot ramped up, as reported by Fox News. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for downing the high-performance fighter jet. In a provocative move, the Iranian government has placed a $60,000 bounty on the pilot’s capture, urging local villagers to assist in the search.
Local television broadcast an announcement offering this substantial reward for capturing the pilot alive and turning them over to authorities. “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” an announcer declared. This followed a previous directive, now rescinded, which encouraged shooting the pilot on sight, as reported by Turkiye Today.
Social media footage shows villagers and Bakhtiari tribesmen spreading out across the arid, mountainous region, driven by the promise of the reward. The combined efforts of these local searchers and the military highlight the urgency and complexity of the situation as each side vies to locate the pilot first.
“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” said an announcer on a local TV station. The directive came after an earlier instruction to shoot the pilot if they were found, according to Turkiye Today.
Villagers and Bakhtiari tribesman were seen in footage posted to social media fanning out across the region’s dry, mountainous terrain in search of the missing pilot, as Iran offered a reported $60,000 bounty to anyone who found the downed pilot.
“The people of the province, especially tribesmen and villagers, have taken up personal weapons to patrol and search across the province’s mountains and plains, ready to fight enemy forces if encountered,” according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian regime.
The downed aircraft has been identified as a F-15E Strike Eagle, that was taking part in the US-Israel air campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28.
The first pilot was rescued within hours and was receiving medical treatment after US special forces carried out a daring rescue, officials said. The status of the missing pilot is unknown.
Experts had hoped the US military might be able to executed a retrieval operation under cover of darkness, where the US has superior military night-vision capabilities.
Meanwhile Saturday, the war continued as an Israel struck infrastructure targets in Tehran.
While the Israeli Defense Forces did not initially detail the mission, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said an airstrike hit near the Bushehr nuclear facility – killing a guard and damaging a building.
An apparent Iranian drone damaged US tech giant Oracle’s Dubai headquarters, while Israel reported yet another volley of Iranian missiles headed its way.
