US pilot captured, rescue helicopter crashes, IRGC says video

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed that a US pilot was captured after the reported downing of a second F-35 fighter jet over central Iran earlier in the day, according to a statement from its press service.

The IRGC said the aircraft was destroyed in Iranian airspace, marking what it described as the second US Air Force jet loss within a 12-hour period. It added that the pilot ejected and landed inside Iran, where he was subsequently taken into custody.

According to the statement, US forces attempted to evacuate the pilot across the border following the ejection.

Earlier, the IRGC had confirmed the complete destruction of the fighter jet but said that, due to the nature of the wreckage, it was unable at the time to provide precise information about the pilot’s fate.

The IRGC later released footage showing what it identified as a US Hercules aircraft and a Black Hawk helicopter operating in Khuzestan province as part of a search-and-rescue mission.

In a subsequent update, the IRGC press service reported that a US Black Hawk UH-60 helicopter involved in the operation had crashed on Iranian territory in the area of Lordegan.

By Tamilla Hasanova