American commandos deployed deep into Iranian territory to rescue a downed airman, US news outlets reported on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump announced that the crew member had been recovered "safe and sound."
Tehran said this week it had shot down an F-15 warplane, the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war. Washington has not confirmed the details of how the fighter went down.
Trump said early on Sunday the US military had "pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!"
Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos were tasked with extracting the airman, while US attack aircraft dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys to keep them away, the New York Times reported, citing an unidentified official.
The airman, a weapon systems officer, was wounded after the ejection but could still walk, evading capture in the mountains for more than a day, according to news outlet Axios, which cited a US official.
The unidentified airman was equipped with a pistol, a beacon and a secure communications device to coordinate with rescuers, the New York Times reported.
American commandos converging on the officer fired their weapons to keep Iranian forces away from the rescue site, the Times said.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had directed the US military to send "dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve" him.
"He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine," Trump wrote.
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.
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.
In his post, Trump also confirmed the "successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday," adding it was not disclosed to avoid jeopardizing the second rescue mission.
"This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory," he wrote, adding that both operations were concluded "without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded."
AFP has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.