A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on Monday near the Strait of Hormuz, and two crew members were rescued, according to two people briefed on the incident, reports The New York Times, as cited by UNN.
Details
It is currently unclear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, suffered a mechanical failure, or encountered some other problem, one of the sources said.
The incident occurred after several days in which hostilities in the region escalated and then subsided, as Israel and Iran exchanged strikes before backing down, in the latest example of the fragility of the ceasefire.
The U.S. military has been using Apache aircraft, as well as MQ-9 Reaper armed drones and F/A-18 and F-35 attack jets, as part of U.S. Central Command's efforts to challenge Iran's de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most commercial shipping.
Iran has shot down about 30 Reaper drones, and several American fighter jets have been lost to both enemy and friendly fire since the start of the war on February 28. However, this was the first loss of an Apache in this conflict, the publication notes.