TEHRAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's army said Sunday that its air defenses had targeted an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet in the country's southern airspace.
In a statement posted on its website, the army said the invading aircraft was tracked and engaged by a surface-to-air missile as it flew over southern coastal areas near Hormuz Island earlier in the day. It said an investigation was underway to determine the aircraft's fate.
On Saturday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck an Israeli F-16 fighter jet in central Iranian airspace earlier in the day.
The IRGC added that Iran's armed forces had tracked and intercepted more than 200 hostile aerial targets, including drones, cruise missiles, tanker aircraft, and advanced fighter jets, since the start of the conflict with the United States and Israel late last month.
It also said Iranian forces had struck two other aircraft, a U.S. F-35 and a U.S. F-15E, in Iranian airspace since the conflict began.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel as well as U.S. bases and assets across the Middle East. ■
