India, April 6 -- In a dramatic development amid escalating conflict in West Asia, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the successful rescue of a missing American airman, declaring on Truth Social: "WE GOT HIM!" - confirming that a "highly respected Colonel" is now "safe and sound."

The officer, part of a two-member crew aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle, had been stranded deep inside Iran after the aircraft was shot down earlier this week, triggering one of the most complex and high-risk rescue missions in modern U.S. military history.

The crisis began when the F-15E was brought down over mountainous terrain in southwestern Iran during ongoing hostilities. One crew member was recovered earlier, but the second-identified as a colonel and w...