Stranded US pilot climbed up to 7,000ft for safety, hid in a crevice to survive 24 hours in hostile Iranian terrain

The weapons systems officer, who was stranded behind enemy lines after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down inside Iran, used all survival and evasion techniques to avoid being captured by Iranian forces closing on him. The injured airman hid in a mountain crevice behind enemy lines and kept moving to avoid capture by charging Iranian forces. At one point, he scaled to over 7,000 feet above sea level in the rugged terrain to evade capture, when all that he had with him was a pistol, a communication device, and a tracking beacon. His agonising wait for being rescued ended when a team of American commandos located him and brought him to safety. All this while, US aircraft kept dropping bombs to clear the area and deter moving Iranian forces.

Also Read: Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif warns of striking Kolkata in future conflict with India

As per local reports, even civilians had joined search efforts after authorities announced rewards for the capture of the US airman.

Two US officials told CNN that the risky rescue operation involved American military and intelligence personnel. The special operations forces carried out the successful rescue mission, even as CIA operatives mounted a deception campaign beforehand to throw off potential Iranian captors.

Also Read: Iran says its new air defence system helped down US jets. Was it Majid, Verba or HQ-9B?

CIA operatives circulated the information inside Iran that both crew members had been recovered to confuse Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members who were frantically themselves looking to capture the downed officer.

Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos extracted the ejected US F-15E pilot from Iran, said a New York Times report, though there was no confirmation from the US authorities.

Meanwhile, Israel postponed some planned strikes in Iran to ensure a smooth search and rescue operation besides offering intelligence support.

The CIA ultimately identified the officer’s exact location and shared the information with the military.

Also Read: Downgrade from ‘regime change’ to ‘find our pilots’: Iran’s speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocks US over downed jet

Meanwhile, at a remote airstrip in Iran, two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft had been waiting to take the commandos and the rescued airman out of the country. But they had been damaged during the operation.

The military decided to send in new planes and blew up the damaged ones to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.

Also Read: ‘India can’t buy oil without Trump’s permission, PM is compromised,’ says Rahul Gandhi

“WE GOT HIM!” President Trump wrote on social media after spending Saturday monitoring the operation from the White House. “Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History,” he said.

All through the rescue mission, Trump had been in the West Wing, moving between the Oval Office and its adjacent dining room to receive updates on the officer’s rescue.