U.S. Media Reveals CIA's 'Distracting Maneuver' in Search for Missing U.S. Pilot
A U.S. official and a White House official confirmed to CBS that U.S. special forces located the missing aircrew member during a complex operation involving dozens of special operations personnel, as well as dozens of aircraft and helicopters.
Two officials stated that the rescued officer has been taken to Kuwait for medical treatment. The officials also revealed that this intense military operation employed bombs and weapons to prevent Iranian forces from approaching the hiding location of the missing officer. They added that during his captivity, the officer had only a single handgun for self-defense.
Two transport aircraft tasked with evacuating the rescue team out of Iran were unable to take off from a remote base inside Iran. Officials said that to prevent these two planes from falling into enemy hands, they were destroyed. The assault team evacuated aboard three other aircraft dispatched to assist.
According to officials, the three rescue aircraft flew from Iran to Kuwait, maintaining very short distances between each other. The rescue mission was completed before midnight, and all U.S. personnel had safely withdrawn from hostile airspace. A senior official from the Trump administration told CBS on Sunday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a deep role in this rescue operation.
Before locating the pilot, the CIA launched a deception campaign across Iran, spreading false information that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him out by land. The official added that while the deception operation was underway, the CIA used its capabilities to track down the aircrew member hiding in a mountain crevice.
Officials said the CIA then informed the Pentagon and the White House of the exact location of the crew member. The president ordered an immediate rescue operation, and the CIA continued to provide real-time intelligence. Houston Cantwell, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general and former F-16 fighter pilot, told the Associated Press that the downing of this F-15E aircraft marked the first time in over 20 years that a U.S. combat aircraft had been shot down in actual warfare.
Since the war began on February 28, at least four U.S. aircraft have been shot down, but the Pentagon stated that three of them were due to friendly fire incidents. On March 1, U.S. Central Command initially reported that three F-15 aircraft were "accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," an incident that resulted in no casualties.
Before announcing this news on Sunday, Trump had remained silent about the search operation. On Friday, during a phone interview with The Independent, he said he could not comment on what actions he would take if the crew member were captured by Iran. Trump stated, “Well, I won’t comment on that because— we hope this situation does not happen.”
Source: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1861639601872972/
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