Washington DC, April 5 (ANI) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. military recovered the second crew member from a downed F-15, calling the retrieval “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history” and pledging that the government will not leave a warfighter behind.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said the rescued officer — a highly respected colonel — was being hunted in the mountainous border region of Iran but was located and brought to safety. He confirmed the crew member sustained injuries.
Trump described the operation as closely monitored by senior U.S. officials around the clock and said he ordered dozens of aircraft, “armed with the most lethal weapons in the world,” to carry out the second mission after local groups reportedly targeted two Black Hawk helicopters.
He added that the rescue followed an earlier recovery of another pilot and said it was the first time in recent memory that two U.S. pilots were rescued separately from deep enemy territory. Trump also asserted that both recoveries were completed without any American fatalities or additional casualties and praised U.S. air dominance and military professionalism.
Both U.S. and Iranian forces reportedly conducted searches for the missing crew member. During those operations, CNN and other outlets reported that Iranian tribesmen fired on American helicopters.
The incidents occurred in remote highlands of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces and the Bakhtiari region, where local groups reportedly engaged U.S. aircraft, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly praised the tribal fighters, calling them “courageous” defenders of the borders.
Footage released earlier showed armed Bakhtiari nomads patrolling mountainous terrain in Khuzestan province searching for the American personnel; a voice in the clip says, “God willing, he will be found.” Iranian authorities also reportedly offered financial bounties for the capture of the missing individual.
Trump concluded his message by urging unity and praising U.S. forces: “We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal military in the history of the world. God bless America, God bless our troops.”
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