India, April 5 -- A US Air Force officer whose F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran was rescued in a daring night-time mission, marking a rare success for American forces. President Donald Trump hailed the operation, noting that there was no loss of life, though US forces reportedly destroyed two of their own aircraft to prevent them from being captured by Iran.

The operation involved two MC-130J transport planes, which got stuck during the extraction, according to a US official cited by the Wall Street Journal. To prevent Iranian forces from seizing the planes, they were deliberately destroyed. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf mocked the mission on X, posting images of the smouldering wreckage. A US Air Force officer whose...