U.S. military rescues second American airman from deep inside Iran in historic back-to-back operations

National News - A U.S. Air Force colonel was rescued from Iran early Sunday morning after surviving nearly 48 hours behind enemy lines. The airman, whose F-15 was shot down by Iranian forces, took refuge in a mountain crevice along a ridge inside Iran before U.S. troops reached him.

President Donald Trump announced the rescue Sunday morning on social media, calling it one of the most daring operations in U.S. military history.

"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" stated President Donald J. Trump.

According to Trump, U.S. forces monitored the colonel's location around the clock while planning the extraction. Dozens of aircraft, described as carrying some of the most advanced weaponry in the U.S. arsenal, were deployed to carry out the mission. The airman was recovered with injuries, though Trump stated he is expected to be "just fine".

Sunday's mission was not the only successful rescue. A separate pilot was recovered the day prior, a development the administration chose not to publicize at the time in order to protect the second 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" President Donald J. Trump said.

In a follow-up post, Trump provided additional details on the second rescue. He described the operation as a raid conducted while Iranian military forces were actively searching the area in significant numbers. He also noted that the first rescue was carried out in broad daylight, a rare approach, with U.S. aircraft spending approximately seven hours over Iranian airspace.

President Donald J. Trump stated, "This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to 'man and equipment.' It just doesn't happen".

Trump credited the success of both missions to what he called overwhelming U.S. air dominance over Iranian skies, pointing to the fact that no American service members were killed or wounded during either operation.

The president announced he will hold a press conference at the Oval Office on Monday at 1:00 p.m., joined by military leadership, to address the operations further.