U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team Members conduct military field operations during exercise TRIDENT 18-4 at Hurlburt Field, Florida, July 11th, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corban Lundborg)
It is now being reported that the legendary Navy SEAL Team 6 was the unit behind successfully rescuing a downed U.S. Airman from deep behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran.
According to reporting from The New York Times, the high-risk operation unfolded over a tense 48-hour window after an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down during ongoing military operations against the Iranian regime.
While the pilot was quickly recovered, the aircraft’s weapons systems officer, a U.S. Air Force colonel, was left stranded in hostile territory, hunted by Iranian forces and facing near-certain capture or death.
But America, under President Trump, doesn’t leave its warriors behind.
President Donald Trump confirmed the successful rescue early Sunday morning:
Full statement from President Trump:
WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!
This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.
At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine.
This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation. This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory.
WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies.
This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!
According to the New York Times report, the rescue involved hundreds of special operations troops, dozens of warplanes and helicopters, and the full might of U.S. cyber, space, and intelligence assets.
SEAL Team 6 went in hot, deep into the Zagros Mountains of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, more than 200 miles inside Iran.
The airman had evaded capture for over 24 hours, hiking a 7,000-foot ridgeline with nothing but a pistol, his SERE training, an encrypted beacon, and sheer American grit.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps thugs and even local Bakhtiari tribesmen were scouring the area, with the mullahs’ regime broadcasting bounties and begging civilians for help finding him.
But the CIA ran a brilliant deception operation to throw the Iranians off the scent, convincing them the airman was already in a convoy heading out of the country.
U.S. attack aircraft pounded Iranian convoys to keep the enemy at bay while the SEALs moved in.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier:
An official confirmed to the New York Times that not a single American hero was wounded during the complex and violent operation.
What makes this even more remarkable is that the operation involved hundreds of special operations forces, several warplanes and helicopters, and advanced intelligence capabilities involving cyber and space.
Not to mention Iranian terrorists unleashing hellfire on them as the rescue mission unfolded.
Per the Daily Mail, the mission’s success was aided when Iranian forces were deceived after the CIA spread the word that US forces had already found the colonel.
In a final twist, two US transport planes were sent to extract the team became stranded at a remote base inside Iran, but our military had a solution.
Commanders ordered them destroyed rather than risk sensitive equipment falling into enemy hands, flying in replacement aircraft to complete the escape, the Times reported.
The airman himself performed feats of ingenuity to save himself from Iranian forces, despite being injured.
He moved away from the plane wreckage and hid on higher ground while signaling for assistance.
Read more:
Several INCREDIBLE New Details Emerge on the Legendary Rescue of 2nd F-15 Pilot in Iran, Including a Clever Trick the CIA Pulled on the Iranians and a Final Twist
The New York Times reported:
A senior U.S. military official described the mission to rescue the airman as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. special operations given the mountainous terrain, the airman’s injuries and Iranian forces rushing to the location.
In a final twist after the weapons officer was rescued, two transport planes that would carry the commandos and the airmen to safety got stuck at a remote base in Iran. Commanders decided to fly in three new planes to extract all the U.S. military personnel and the airman, and they blew up the two disabled planes rather than have them fall into Iranian hands.
This is the same unit that shot and killed Osama bin Laden at his “Waziristan Haveli” in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011.
Two helicopters flown by U.S. Army aviators carried 23 Navy SEALs, along with an interpreter and a combat dog, into Abbottabad, Pakistan, to execute the raid.
History reported:
On May 2, 2011, U.S. Special Forces raided an al-Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed the world’s most wanted terrorist: Osama bin Laden. The entire operation, which lasted only 40 minutes from start to finish, was the culmination of years of calculated planning and training.
Ultimately, bin Laden was found and killed within nine minutes, and SEAL Team Six was credited with carrying out a nearly flawless mission.
The post CONFIRMED: Navy SEAL Team 6 Rescues Downed U.S. Airman From Deep Behind Enemy Lines in Bold Mission — The Same Unit That Killed Osama bin Laden appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.