ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The US safely recovered the second pilot of the downed US fighter jet in Iran, US President Donald Trump said Sunday, calling it “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History.”

On Friday, a US F15 fighter jet was downed in Iran with one crew member being rescued shortly after, leaving another missing in Iranian territory as the US and Iran raced to the search all while Iran had set a bounty for anyone who caught the pilot.

“This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation,” Trump said on Truth Social, also confirming the first pilot’s rescue a day earlier.

“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” he added.

Iranian media on Sunday reported at least five people were killed, southwest of the country, during a rescue operation of a missing US pilot.

Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos were tasked with retrieving the missing crewmember while US aircrafts bombed and shot at Iranian convoys, according to the New York Times on Sunday citing an unnamed official.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Sunday said two US C130 transport aircrafts and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed during the search operation for the missing crewmember, framing the mission as a failure.

“The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled,” said Khatam al-Anbiya spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari.

The US said that two aircrafts were deliberately destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands after being stuck in a remote area.

“At my direction, the US Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” Trump said.

Around the same time the F15 was shot down on Friday, Iranian media said another US A10 Warthog aircraft was downed near the Strait of Hormuz.