Iran says several 'enemy aircraft' destroyed during US pilot rescue mission

April 5, 2026 2:28 AM EDT

FILE PHOTO: An E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft launches from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during thge Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran March 31, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

DUBAI, April 5 (Reuters) - ‌Several ​aircraft ​were destroyed in the south of Iran's Isfahan province during a ‌U.S. mission to find a stranded ⁠airman, Iranian military officials said on Sunday.

U.S. officials ‌told Reuters late on ‌Saturday that a second airman whose F-15 jet was downed on Friday ​in Iran was rescued, a day after the first crew member was ⁠recovered.

"Additional investigations by experts on the ground revealed that two ​C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters of the ​US army were destroyed ‌by our forces," the spokesperson of the unified command of Iranian ⁠armed forces said.

Separate statements by the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards said an Israeli ⁠Hermes-900 drone as well as a U.S. MQ-9 ​drone were downed in Isfahan province.

Reuters could not immediately verify the Iranian accounts.

Iran's semi-official Fars ‌news agency said U.S. search operations were conducted from Saturday evening ‌in three different provinces, namely Chaharmahal ⁠and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh ‌and Boyer Ahmad, ​and Isfahan.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Christina ‌Fincher)



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