Washington: The special operators were part of the teams sent in to retrieve the pilot and weapon systems officer of a downed fighter jet in Iran, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.
During a briefing on Monday, April 6, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Our special operators, pilots and support crews performed with near perfection under fire,” but he stopped short of confirming that US troops set foot on Iranian soil.
Hegseth and Trump have said they haven’t ruled out boots on the ground, but also repeatedly argued that the conflict was limited in scope.
Hegseth has lambasted previous presidents who oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, insisting that the Iran war “is different. It’s laser-focused”.
Shooting by Israel-backed group at shelter in Gaza
An Israel-backed armed group in Gaza kidnapped children from a school-turned-shelter on Monday, according to a witness, after which Israel launched an airstrike on the site, health authorities said.
The Israeli military had no response when reached for comment.
An anti-Hamas Palestinian group called Abu Nusseirah posted on social media that they killed five Hamas fighters at the shelter in Maghazi.
An elderly displaced woman sheltering at the school told the AP that dozens of men stormed the site, clashed with people there and forced kids – including girls – into vehicles. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, she said her son was killed in the fighting.
Bodies were taken to al-Aqsa hospital, where health officials said some had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the school after the clashes. AP footage showed dozens of mourners gathered at the morgue.
Many displaced Palestinians say they fear the Iran war has overshadowed Gaza’s dire humanitarian situation.
3 US troops injured during fighter jet shootdown, rescue
Those injured were the weapon systems officer from the US Air Force F-15E fighter jet that was shot down in Iran late last week, as well as two aircrewmen from a helicopter that took fire during the initial rescue for the pilot from the downed jet.
That’s according to a US official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.
After rescuing the pilot, the HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters were “engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” said Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
At the same White House briefing, Trump said the jet’s downed weapons officer was “bleeding profusely” but still able climb mountainous terrain and communicate his location.
12-hour drive through Iran offers glimpses of daily life
A black banner hangs over a border crossing and portraits of Iran’s killed supreme leader stare down, promising vengeance against the US and Israel.
But on the 12-hour drive south to the capital, Tehran, daily life continues, with only occasional signs of the ongoing war, including a Shiite religious centre that officials say was damaged by a recent airstrike.
Associated Press reporters made the journey on Saturday after crossing into Iran from Turkey. They gained a glimpse of the country at the centre of a regional war that has jolted the world economy and shows no sign of ending.
US stocks rise before Trump’s Iran strike deadline
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.
Like stock indexes, oil prices seesawed through the day amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of crude oil.
Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market.
US, Egypt urge Israel against Lebanon-Syria border strike
The US and Egypt are pushing Israel not to strike the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing, according to Lebanon’s General Security chief, Hassan Choucair.
He those “ongoing contacts” by Washington and Cairo aim to protect and reopen the Masnaa border crossing.
It’s been closed since Saturday after Israel warned it could be targeted over alleged weapons smuggling by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Officials in Lebanon and Syria deny that claim, saying vehicles are thoroughly inspected.
The crossing’s closure has forced travellers to take a longer northern route. More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the war escalated five weeks ago, many of them fleeing the conflict.
Trump details rescue of US airmen shot down in Iran
The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran.
Trump and his top defence aides detailed the daring rescue operation in an unusual level of detail during a news conference at the White House on Monday.
The US surged helicopters, midair refuellers and fighter jets deep into Iran to rescue the pilot within hours. But finding and picking up the jet’s weapon systems officer was a more complicated endeavour.
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