IRGC: We Destroyed American Planes While Searching for the Pilot

SadaNews - While U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the rescue of the American pilot whose plane crashed in southwestern Iran last Friday, safe and sound, the Iranian military announced that it shot down several "flying objects" during the rescue mission.

It pointed out in a statement today, Sunday, that the downed American aircraft included a military transport plane of the C-130 type and two Black Hawk helicopters, according to the Tasnim news agency.

It also added that "during a joint operation among the leaderships of the air and ground forces, popular units, Basij forces, and the police, hostile flying objects were destroyed," following the Iranian police command's announcement of the downing of an American C-130 military transport plane south of Isfahan.

Earlier today, the Iranian military also confirmed that it shot down an Israeli drone in the same region.

Meanwhile, Iranian sources reported that 5 Iranian casualties occurred during the strikes carried out as part of the operation to rescue the American pilot, according to local media.

Of the MC-130 type

Simultaneously, informed American sources revealed that American forces used drones to attack Iranians who approached the pilot before his rescue, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It added that American forces destroyed two MC-130 aircraft that were stuck during the pilot's rescue mission.

Furthermore, American officials indicated that U.S. forces engaged with Iranian soldiers during the pilot's rescue operation, according to CBS.

While another American official stated that Washington launched a disinformation campaign to mislead Tehran into believing it had found the missing pilot before his rescue, according to Fox News.

This information came after Trump confirmed in a post on his "Truth Social" account earlier today that the U.S. military rescued its second pilot who had been missing since last Friday in the "Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad" province in southwestern Iran, as the war in the Middle East entered its sixth week.

The plane, a fighter and bomber of the F-15E type, crashed inside Iranian territory, while its pilots successfully ejected from it.

Tehran announced that its forces shot down the plane and offered a reward for anyone who helps capture the second pilot, after a special American force succeeded in rescuing the first and extracting him from the country.