US crew member on fighter jet shot down over Iran rescued, per reports

Two U.S. military planes went down in separate incidents on Friday, and while one crew member was rescued in Iran, the whereabouts of at least one other was unknown — marking a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago.One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that jet was rescued, but a second was missing.The rescue occurred as the U.S. military was conducting a search operation, a U.S. official and an Israeli official said. Three people familiar also confirmed that a search had been underway. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitivity of the situation.No official details were released.But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member is not known.In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.Separately, a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed into Persian Gulf.Earlier, a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of that aircraft’s crew, nor exactly where the aircraft, went down was immediately known.The A-10, also known by the nickname Warthog, is a single-seat aircraft. The incidents marked a major escalation in the conflict just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”Iran fired on targets across the Mideast on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors, despite U.S. and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food. W2lmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vaGVhcnN0dGVsZXZpc2lvbmRhdGFqb3VybmFsaXNtLmh0dmFwcHMuY29tLzNkLW1vZGVsL2YtMTVlL3YzL2luZGV4LXdwb3B1cC5odG1sIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI2MDBweCIgd2lkdGg9IjEwMCUiIHNjcm9sbGluZyA9ICJubyJdWy9pZnJhbWVd

Two U.S. military planes went down in separate incidents on Friday, and while one crew member was rescued in Iran, the whereabouts of at least one other was unknown — marking a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago.

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that jet was rescued, but a second was missing.

The rescue occurred as the U.S. military was conducting a search operation, a U.S. official and an Israeli official said. Three people familiar also confirmed that a search had been underway. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitivity of the situation.

No official details were released.

But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member is not known.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

Separately, a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed into Persian Gulf.

Earlier, a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of that aircraft’s crew, nor exactly where the aircraft, went down was immediately known.

The A-10, also known by the nickname Warthog, is a single-seat aircraft.

The incidents marked a major escalation in the conflict just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”

Iran fired on targets across the Mideast on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors, despite U.S. and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food.