TEHRAN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Qatari forces captured three Iranian pilots whose fighter jets were shot down when returning from a military mission against a U.S. base in Qatar in March, an Iranian military commander has said.
Commander of the Missing Persons Search Committee of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Mohammad Bagherzadeh made the remarks in a letter addressed to President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric, which was published on the Iranian committee's website on Saturday.
Bagherzadeh said following the start of the U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran in late February, some of which were launched from U.S. bases in the region, two Iranian Army's Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets flew to Qatar on March 2 to conduct a military mission, adding the fighter jets were hit by the "enemy's" air defense on the way back, and the pilots ejected.
He noted that one of the four Iranian pilots in the jets died, and the rest were captured alive by Qatari forces.
Bagherzadeh stressed that the Iranian pilots were not allowed to contact their families, while the relevant authorities were also prevented from following up on their cases.
The commander said his committee is gravely concerned about the captured pilots' conditions, calling on the ICRC's president to inform Iran of their health status, and prepare the ground for their swift release.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing the country's then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region.
The body of the slain Iranian pilot, Majid Kazemi, was returned to Iran and buried in the southern city of Shiraz in late July. ■
