WASHINGTON: Iran shot down a US helicopter, the US President confirmed and said that there will be a response. A few hours after this statement, the US launched attacks on Iran late at night in response to the downing of a military Apache helicopter.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that defensive strikes have been launched against Iran. The US military is targeting specific targets. According to CENTCOM, the attacks were carried out in response to the downing of a US military helicopter yesterday.
According to the Iranian News Agency, explosions were heard in the eastern regions of the Iranian province of Hormozgan, a missile attack took place in Sirik. Iranian state media said that the Iranian island of Qeshm was also attacked, while explosions were also heard in Bandar Abbas.
US President Trump said in a statement after the attacks that the response to the attack on the helicopter should be very strong.
The Revolutionary Guards say that a decisive response will be given to the US attacks. Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar have closed their airspace. Earlier, a US AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near Oman at around 3am on Tuesday.
The US military told Reuters that a US Navy surface drone (drone boat) found and rescued the two personnel. Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said that the 24-foot-long unmanned boat tracked the two pilots and brought them to shore after being in the water for about two hours.
US President Donald Trump said that both pilots of the helicopter that crashed in the Strait of Hormuz are fine, they were not injured, and that a full report on the helicopter crash will be released today.
Later, in his social media statement, Trump said that I have been informed by the military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our most advanced Apache helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. It is imperative for the United States to respond to this attack.
