Following our earlier reports on the rescue of both crew members from the downed U.S
By Bernie,
Following our earlier reports on the rescue of both crew members from the downed U.S. F-15E, here is what we now know about how the operation unfolded.
The pilot was recovered within hours of both crew members ejecting over southwestern Iran on Thursday night. The weapons systems officer, identified by Trump as a colonel, was not as fortunate. He spent more than a day evading Iranian forces in mountainous terrain, using survival training to move away from the crash site and conceal himself in elevated ground while activating an emergency beacon.
A senior Trump administration official said the CIA located the officer using what he described as its "unique capabilities," calling it "the ultimate needle in a haystack, a brave American soul inside a mountain crevice." The agency immediately shared his exact coordinates with the Pentagon and the White House. Before the rescue, the CIA launched a deception campaign inside Iran, spreading word that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him overland for extraction.
Trump ordered an immediate rescue. A specialized commando unit was deployed under heavy air cover, with U.S. forces striking IRGC positions as Iranian troops converged on the area. The operation grew more complex when two transport aircraft that entered Iran to extract the officer and the commandos became stranded on a temporary airstrip established in a remote area of the country. U.S. forces destroyed both planes to prevent them falling into Iranian hands and deployed additional aircraft to complete the extraction. Hundreds of special operations troops were involved across two days on the ground inside Iran.
According to Iranian opposition sources, U.S. forces killed nine local tribesmen, 50 Basij members, and three IRGC personnel who were searching for the crew member. Fox News reported that Israel was involved in the operation, sharing intelligence with U.S. authorities.
Trump said both rescues were completed "without a single American killed, or even wounded," calling it the first time in military memory that two crew members were rescued separately deep inside enemy territory. The weapons systems officer was evacuated to Kuwait for medical treatment.
Topics: Iran
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