Tehran, MINA – Iran deployed troops and offered a bounty as it launched a hunt for a US pilot whose jet Iranian media said had been downed by the Islamic republic’s air defence systems Friday.
Quoted from The New Arab, US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for military operations in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the first such report in the war engulfing the region.
The New York Times quoted US and Israeli officials confirming Iranian claims to have shot down a fighter jet.
The Wall Street Journal, Axios and Reuters all reported that a search-and-rescue operation was underway by US forces.
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It was unclear what aircraft was involved, with reports referring to both an F35 and F-15E fighter jet.
The war started more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.
The prospect of US pilots being alive and on the run inside Iran during an ongoing conflict greatly raises the stakes for the United States in the conflict. Iranian officials called on civilians to be on the lookout for survivors.
“Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today,” Iran’s Fars news agency said.
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Iran’s Mizan news agency said that C-130 aircraft and four Black Hawk helicopters were looking for the pilot of a downed US aircraft within Iran, and that Iranian forces are attempting to combat them.
“Dear and honourable people of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus,” said an Iranian television reporter on the official local channel.
The governor of Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province said whomever captured or killed the crew “would be specially commended,” according to the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.
According to a Western fighter pilot, in the event of ejection over hostile territory, “the first thing to do is to hide and try to signal your position to your comrades”.
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Pilots wear a combat vest containing a radio/GPS-coded beacon to transmit their position and communicate with search teams, using a system of code words for signalling, the pilot told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
The vest is also equipped with water, vitamin bars, a first-aid kit and a pistol. Pilots are trained to fend for themselves in the wilderness while evading enemy soldiers after an ejection. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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