Second US Plane Goes Down In Iran War, Pilot Reportedly Rescued

(AP Photo/Bob Brodbeck)

A second U.S. service member was safely rescued on Friday after multiple aircrafts went down in connection with the war in Iran, according to new reports.

According to The New York Times, citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation, an Air Force combat plane crashed in the Persian Gulf, and the sole pilot was rescued. The A-10 Warthog attack went down near the Strait of Hormuz around the same time a previously reported F-15 fighter jet over Iran went down.

NBC News reported, soon after, that the A-10 had been involved in the rescue mission of the F-15 crew and after being hit “made it to Kuwaiti air space, where the pilot ejected and the aircraft crashed, the official said. The pilot is safe and the A-10 is down in Kuwait, according to the official.”

Iranian media began circulating images of pieces allegedly from a shot-down fighter jet, and multiple U.S. outlets quickly confirmed that two crew members were missing after an aircraft over Iran had gone down. Axios was first to report that a fighter jet had been shot down, and Reuters later confirmed through a U.S. official.

Axios’s Barak Ravid reported later in the day that one of the two pilots had been rescued by U.S. troops. The U.S. is still searching for the other crew member on the ground in Iran.

“One of two crew members of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down over Iran was located and rescued by U.S. special forces and the search for the second is ongoing, per Israeli official and a source with knowledge,” that report read.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation and was monitoring.

More than a dozen U.S. service members have died since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Israel. Trump addressed the nation earlier this week and said the war would wrap up in a matter of weeks. The Iran strikes took out many high-ranking government officials, including Iran’s supreme leader.

According to Iranian state media, a “valuable reward” was being offered for anyone who could capture the downed U.S. pilots alive.

This is a breaking story and it has been updated.

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