Groups of Iranian tribesmen reportedly fired at American helicopters that were searching for a missing crew member after a fighter jet was shot down over Iran, state media reported Saturday.
In remote, mountainous areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces and the Bakhtiari region, tribesmen fired at two Black Hawk helicopters, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) praised the tribesmen for serving as “courageous, valiant and victorious guardians of the borders,” according to the state agency.
Fars released a video on Friday (3) claiming to show members of the nomadic Bakhtiari tribes, with rifles in hand, searching for food in the mountains of Khuzestan province, Iran.
“God willing, he will be found,” says one of the men in the video.
Iranian officials offered large cash rewards for the successful capture of the missing crew member.
A CNN contacted US Central Command about reports of US helicopters under fire.
The IRGC also highlighted a new air defense system, which they said was used on Friday to target the two Black Hawk helicopters.
In a video released by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency, Central Command spokesman Khatam al-Anbiya warned of new attacks coming from the new system.
“We will certainly achieve full control over our country’s skies and prove the enemy’s humiliation to the world more than ever before,” he said.
