CIA deception op, over 90 troops: How US rescued 'Alpha & Bravo' from Iran - video
A newly declassified video details a complex US military operation to rescue an Air Force officer shot down over Iran. The mission involved over 90 ground troops and extensive intelligence support to extract the wounded officer after his pilot was successfully rescued earlier.
Why it matters
The operation highlights the high-stakes nature of modern combat search-and-rescue missions and the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
NEW DELHI: A newly declassified video has revealed details of a high-risk US military operation to rescue an Air Force officer who spent nearly 50 hours wounded and hiding behind enemy lines in Iran after his F-15E fighter jet was shot down in April.More than 90 US service members were deployed on the ground during the rescue operation, while hundreds of personnel were involved in the air and several thousand others provided support, according to CBS News' '60 Minutes'.The operation involved combat search-and-rescue teams, CIA intelligence and deception efforts, helicopters, bombers and drones, as US forces raced against time to locate and extract the officer, identified by his callsign "Bravo".Bravo was the weapons-systems officer aboard the two-seat F-15E, operating under the mission callsign Dude 44.
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