Overview
- U.S. officials said Friday an F-15E with two crew members was downed over southwestern Iran, with one airman rescued and the other still unaccounted for.
- Around the same time, a U.S. A-10 attack jet went down near the Strait of Hormuz and its pilot was rescued, with Iran claiming a shootdown that U.S. authorities had not confirmed.
- American helicopters, C-130 rescue planes, tankers and drones flew low over the crash area during a combat search effort as gunfire from the ground was reported in widely circulated videos.
- Iranian state media posted wreckage images, urged civilians to report or capture any ‘enemy pilot’ with rewards promised, and pushed unverified claims about more aircraft hit as fake videos of a capture proliferated online.
- These losses hit five weeks into a campaign that has struck Gulf energy sites and constricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a squeeze that has helped push oil prices above $100 a barrel.