Two rescue helicopters have been deployed in the search for an American pilot missing behind enemy lines in Iran — as armed tribesmen have fanned out across the desert terrain in a bid to find the vanished US military member.
The search-and-rescue mission was well into its second day Saturday as efforts to find the pilot escalated, Fox News reported.
The pilot was forced to bail out of the F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seater plane, after it was shot down Friday over Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, near Iraq.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it shot down the high performance fighter, and the Iranian government dangled a $60,000 reward for the pilot’s capture – while enlisting local villagers in the search.
“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” said an announcer on a local TV station. The directive came after an earlier instruction to shoot the pilot if they were found, according to Turkiye Today.
Villagers and Bakhtiari tribesman were seen in footage posted to social media fanning out across the region’s dry, mountainous terrain in search of the missing pilot.
“The people of the province, especially tribesmen and villagers, have taken up personal weapons to patrol and search across the province’s mountains and plains, ready to fight enemy forces if encountered,” according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian regime.
The tribesmen took aim at two US Black Hawk helicopters with hunting rifles, according to the Telegraph.
The missing pilot’s downed aircraft has been identified as a F-15E Strike Eagle, that was taking part in the US-Israel air campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28.
The first pilot was rescued within hours and was receiving medical treatment after US special forces carried out a daring rescue, officials said.
The status of the missing pilot is unknown.
Experts had hoped the US military might be able to executed a retrieval operation under cover of darkness, where the US has superior military night-vision capabilities.
Meanwhile Saturday, the war continued as an Israel struck infrastructure targets in Tehran.
Israeli Defense Forces targeted petrochemical facilities in southern Iran which the IDF said were used to make ballistic missiles materials.
The strikes were said to have halted production and cause billions in damage, according to the Times of Israel.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran also said an Israeli airstrike hit near the perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear facility – killing a guard and damaging a building.
An apparent Iranian drone damaged US tech giant Oracle’s Dubai headquarters, while Israel reported yet another volley of Iranian missiles headed its way.
