Washington, April 4: A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, triggering a combat search-and-rescue operation, with one crew member rescued and another still missing.

Both crew members ejected from the aircraft. One has been found alive, while efforts continue to locate the second, whose status remains unclear. The F-15E is a two-seat multirole fighter with a pilot and a weapons systems officer.

In a separate incident the same day, a US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft was also lost in the region. Its pilot was rescued safely, people familiar with the situation were quoted by local media outlets.

Initial US indications suggest both aircraft were hit by Iranian fire. Iran claimed it had downed an American fighter and circulated images purportedly showing wreckage of an F-15E, though the authenticity of those images could not be independently verified.

US Central Command and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Videos on social media, reportedly from southwestern Iran, showed US aircraft flying low, possibly conducting combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) missions.

The US Air Force has CSAR teams in the region equipped with HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and HH-60 helicopters. At least one rescue helicopter involved in the operation was hit by Iranian fire but managed to land, according to people familiar with the matter.

The incidents mark the first known combat loss of US crewed aircraft in the current conflict. Earlier, a US Air Force F-35 pilot had “suffered shrapnel wounds” after damage to the aircraft during a mission over Iran on March 19, but the jet was able to make an emergency landing.

Three F-15Es were also “shot down by friendly fire” over Kuwait on March 2, with all six crew members ejecting safely. Separately, a KC-135 tanker “crashed in western Iraq after an apparent midair collision,” killing six airmen.

Iranian state media said the downing of the aircraft would mark the first time Tehran had shot down an American fighter jet since the conflict began weeks ago. Reports also indicated Iranian forces were searching for the missing US service member in the area where the jet went down.

US officials have said American forces continue to operate with air superiority over large parts of Iran and have struck more than 12,300 targets.

Tehran, April 4: Iran has rejected a US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.

The proposal was delivered to Iran through a “friendly” country on Thursday, Fars quoted an informed source as saying.

Washington has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire, particularly after an Iranian strike targeted a US “military forces depot” on Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island, Xinhua news agency reported quoting sources.

According to Fars, assessments suggest that the proposal was put forward following an intensification of the crisis in the region and “serious problems” for US forces resulting from their country’s “miscalculation” of Iran’s military capabilities.

The report added that Iran’s response to the offer was not given in writing, but through the continuation of attacks in the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Iranian army confirmed that its air defence systems shot down a US A-10 “Warthog” attack plane over Iran’s southern waters near the Strait of Hormuz, with the aircraft crashing into the Persian Gulf.

The announcement came shortly after IRGC said that it had downed a US F-35 fighter jet in central Iranian airspace earlier in the day. Later Friday, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that a US Black Hawk helicopter was also hit by a projectile in Iranian airspace while searching for the pilot of the downed US fighter jet.

Yadollah Rahmani, governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, called on residents in tribal and rural areas to assist authorities in locating “enemy pilots.”

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US assets in the Middle East.

Kabul, April 3: At least two children were killed and nearly 30 people were injured due to shelling and drone strikes carried out by Pakistani forces in eastern Afghanistan, local media reported on Friday, citing officials.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the attacks targeting residential areas in Kunar, Paktika, and Khost provinces began on Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Ariana News reported.

“Since yesterday, Pakistani forces have carried out continuous mortar, rocket and drone attacks,” he said, adding that majority of the casualties were civilians, including children.

Two children were injured, and property was damaged after more than 150 mortar and long-range artillery shells hit Sarkano and Manogai districts of Kunar province. Eight children were injured, and two others were killed in shelling in the Dosaraki area of Sarkano’s Nawapas region.

Three civilians were injured after a drone strike in the Shkin district of Paktika province, while two people were injured in a separate drone strike in Zazi Maidan district in Khost.

Afghan officials have criticised Pakistan for its strikes, saying that civilian areas were being targeted intentionally, causing significant harm to local communities, Ariana News reported.

Tensions have escalated tremendously between Kabul and Islamabad over the past few months due to the Pakistani airstrikes and artillery fire, which have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in war-torn Afghanistan. Meanwhile, talks began between officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan in China’s Urumqi on Thursday.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the Afghan delegation visited China to hold discussions with Pakistani officials.

On Thursday, Afghanistan’s Minister of Economy, Qari Din Mohammad Hanif, said that more than 27,000 Afghan families across nine provinces have been displaced due to attacks carried out by Pakistan’s military, local media reported.

During a coordination meeting with officials from the United Nations agencies and national and international organisations, Hanif said that Pakistan has carried out hostile actions against Afghanistan in recent months, Afghanistan-based Pajhwok Afghan News reported. He further said that at least 27,344 families have been displaced in Nuristan, Zabul, Paktia, Khost, Paktika, Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman and Kandahar provinces of the country.

Hanif noted that many of these families are currently residing without access to basic necessities, including adequate food, clothing, shelter and healthcare. He mentioned that the Taliban has taken measures to address the economic and livelihood challenges faced by displaced people of Afghanistan. However, he urged UN agencies and partner organisations to provide humanitarian assistance.