BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES:

BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES:

Inside the 48-hour race to save a downed U.S. Air Force Colonel in the Iranian mountains. 7,000ft climbs, a $60k bounty, and a daring SEAL Team Six extraction.

"We got him!" - President Trump.

Read the full story of the most daring rescue in modern history:

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — In what is being described as one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations in modern military history, a U.S. Air Force Colonel has been extracted from the treacherous mountains of Iran after evading capture for nearly 48 hours.

The officer, a weapons systems officer (WSO) on an F-15E Strike Eagle, was rescued early Sunday morning following a high-stakes mission involving hundreds of special operations personnel and dozens of aircraft. President Donald Trump confirmed the rescue on social media, stating, “WE GOT HIM! This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines... being hunted down by our enemies who were getting closer by the hour.”

The Crash and Evasion

The ordeal began on Friday, April 3, when the F-15E was shot down over southwestern Iran. While the pilot was located and rescued shortly after ejecting, the Colonel remained missing in a rugged, high-altitude region.

Relying on his Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training, the officer immediately moved away from the wreckage to avoid Iranian search parties. Reports indicate he performed a grueling 7,000-foot climb up a mountain ridgeline to reach a defensible position, eventually taking cover in a narrow mountain crevice.

Armed with only a handgun, survival rations, and a beacon, the Colonel had to contend with both the harsh terrain and a massive Iranian manhunt. Iranian state media had reportedly broadcast a $60,000 reward for his capture, prompting local search parties to join the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in combing the peaks.

A "Needle in a Haystack" Rescue

The rescue was a joint effort between the U.S. military and the CIA. To buy the Colonel time, the CIA launched a sophisticated "deception campaign," spreading false intelligence within Iran that the airman had already been captured and moved across the border.

\As U.S. forces pinpointed his location via an encrypted beacon, the extraction team—reportedly including Navy SEAL Team Six and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—moved in. The mission was fraught with danger:

Aerial Combat: U.S. attack aircraft, including A-10 Warthogs, provided covering fire, bombing Iranian convoys that were closing in on the Colonel's hiding spot.

Equipment Loss: During the extraction, two U.S. MC-130J transport aircraft reportedly suffered malfunctions or took damage and had to be destroyed on the ground by U.S. forces to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

Casualties: While the U.S. reports all rescue personnel returned safely, Iranian sources claim several people were killed in the strikes protecting the extraction zone

The mission saw intense action:

Aerial Cover: A-10 Warthogs and MQ-9 Reaper drones provided a "shield of fire," striking Iranian convoys that moved within three kilometers of the Colonel’s position.

The Cost of Success: To ensure no sensitive technology fell into enemy hands, U.S. forces were forced to intentionally destroy two of their own MC-130J transport aircraft on the ground after they became bogged down at a remote landing site

Current Status

The Colonel, who sustained "serious injuries" during the ejection or his time on the mountain, was flown to a military hospital in Kuwait. Although his injuries are significant, officials say he is in stable condition and "will be just fine.

"The incident marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, being the first time a crewed American aircraft has been downed inside Iranian territory since the start of hostilities on February 28. President Trump is expected to hold a formal press conference at the White House on Monday to provide further details on the operation.