Reports suggest that a US pilot has been captured by Iranian military forces.
According to a Tasnim correspondent in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in western Iran, based on some information, following the destruction of the advanced American fighter jet by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) earlier on Friday, the pilot ejected and landed inside the country.
The correspondent added that there are indications the Americans, believing the pilot might be alive, attempted to extract him from Iran’s borders. However, some sources say the pilot has likely been captured by Iranian forces.
Further details will be announced later.
The IRGC announced on Friday that the second F-35 fighter jet was destroyed in the skies of central Iran by the new advanced defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force. It said the doomed fighter jet belongs to the Lakenheath squadron.
The IRGC noted that the intruding fighter jet has been completely destroyed and has crashed.
The US and the Israeli regime launched a large-scale unprovoked military campaign against Iran following the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders and civilians on February 28.
The attacks have involved extensive aerial strikes on both military and civilian locations across Iran, causing significant casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure.
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces have carried out retaliatory operations, targeting American and Israeli positions in the occupied territories and at regional bases with waves of missiles and drones.