US President Donald Trump said “the pilots are fine” after being asked about a report that a US Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times reported that a US Army Apache helicopter gunship went down near the strait on Monday, and that two crew members had to be rescued.
“The pilots are fine, nobody injured,” Trump told reporters in New York after attending Monday night’s NBA Finals game.
He did not provide further information on what happened but said a report would be issued “tomorrow.” The New York Times report said it was not clear what had brought down the helicopter.
The apparent loss of the aircraft came after hostilities in the region escalated over the weekend, with Iran and Israel exchanging their first direct strikes in months late Sunday.
CNN has asked US Central Command, the military branch responsible for operations in the Middle East, for comment.
While it’s not clear what the Apache was doing at the time, they have previously been used to attack Iranian small boats as part of the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Apache helicopters are primarily used for precision strikes, close air support, and air reconnaissance, according to the Central Command website.
If confirmed, it would be the first loss of an Apache since the conflict with Iran began.
The US military has lost dozens of aircraft –– including at least five fighter jets, seven Stratotanker refueling aircraft, a search-and-rescue helicopter and more then two dozens drones –– since the war with Iran began in late February, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in May.
Images and video released by Iranian state media and geolocated by CNN appear to show the smoldering wreckage of several aircraft in southern Esfahan province after President Donald Trump said US forces rescued a crew member from a downed fighter jet.
In early April, the US military had to launch a risky operation to rescue one of the pilots of a F-15E Strike Eagle that was shot down inside Iran . The military had to blow up two of its own special operations aircraft on the ground in Iran during the covert mission, which involved hundreds of American military and intelligence personnel, including special operations forces.
In March, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq , killing all six crew members onboard. And days earlier, three US F-15 fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, with all crew members ejecting safely.
A number of aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes on a US airbase in Saudi Arabia, while other aircraft sustained damage after coming under Iranian fire while they were in the air.
