00:00More details are emerging from what's being called a Hollywood-style rescue mission
00:04after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
00:07So how did American forces pull it off?
00:16The F-15 was flying over Isfahan province when it was brought down,
00:20forcing two airmen to eject separately deep into hostile territory.
00:24One was quickly recovered, the other injured, alone, and on the run.
00:29For nearly 48 hours, the weapons systems officer evaded Iranian forces,
00:35at one point climbing a 7,000-foot mountain ridgeline, reportedly with a sprained ankle.
00:41He had almost nothing with him, an encrypted radio, an emergency beacon used sparingly to avoid detection,
00:47a handgun, and just enough food and water and medical supplies to survive.
00:52Then came the rescue.
00:54Under cover of darkness, U.S. special forces launched a high-risk mission
00:58deep inside Iran, deploying Osprey aircraft, transport planes, and special forces helicopters.
01:05But the mission nearly collapsed.
01:06Two aircrafts broke down on the ground, stranding at least 100 troops inside Iranian territory.
01:12Commanders had to improvise in real time, rerouting aircraft, extracting forces in waves,
01:17and keeping the mission alive.
01:19At the same time, the CIA launched a deception campaign convincing Iranian forces the airmen had already been rescued.
01:26U.S. air forces also jammed communications and struck nearby routes to slow anyone closing in.
01:32And the disabled aircraft?
01:34Well, they were blown up on the ground to stop sensitive information from falling into Iranian hands.
01:39In the end, Navy SEAL Team 6 pulled off the extraction in a massive operation involving hundreds of personnel.
01:46There were no U.S. casualties, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, and every commando made it out.
01:52And the injured airmen flown to Kuwait for medical treatment, a successful rescue mission deep inside enemy territory that could
01:59have gone very differently.
02:00Iran, on the other hand, claims the mission was a complete failure, saying its forces destroyed multiple U.S. aircraft
02:07that resulted in the loss of high-value assets.
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