U.S. media: Rescued American pilot has been taken to Kuwait

Xinhua News Agency, Washington, April 5 — According to the U.S. New York Times, reported on April 5, the second pilot on the U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet that was shot down earlier has been sent to Kuwait for treatment. During the process of rescuing the pilot, the U.S. military destroyed two “trapped” U.S. transport aircraft that were carrying out rescue missions.

The report said the pilot searched for more than 24 hours in mountainous areas while avoiding Iran, and his personal weapon was only a handgun. The U.S. military mobilized several hundred special operations personnel to carry out the rescue. During the rescue operation, there was an exchange of fire with the Iranian side.

The report said that when two U.S. transport aircraft carried out the mission to rescue the pilot in Iran, they developed malfunctions and were “trapped.” The U.S. military then dispatched three new aircraft to continue the rescue mission and destroyed the two malfunctioning transport aircraft.

Separately, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported on April 5 that the public relations department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that a U.S. aircraft searching for a missing downed pilot was shot down in Isfahan Province. The Iranian Mehr News Agency also reported that a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft was shot down on April 5.

On April 4, U.S. President Trump said that the U.S. military had rescued the second pilot on the F-15E fighter jet that was shot down from Iran.