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In February, following a joint attack by the United States and occupying Israel, two Iranian Sukhoi-24 fighter jets went to launch a retaliatory attack on the US airbase Al Udeid in Doha, the capital of Qatar. However, both aircraft were shot down.
Iran has stated that although one of the four pilots from those two aircraft was killed, the remaining three are alive.
Iranian news agency Fars News reported this information today, Saturday (August 15), citing a letter from General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the country’s armed forces. The report states that Qatar has detained the three pilots and has not allowed them to meet their families or anyone else for the past six months.
In the letter sent to the Red Cross, General Mohammad Bagherzadeh stated, “After the Sukhoi-24 fighter jets were shot down during the war, Qatar detained three Iranian pilots alive. They are Javad Salehi, Abdulmajid Dastiyan, and Omran Behravasiyan. Qatar has held them for the past six months.”
In the letter, he demanded their release, saying, “These three pilots have not been allowed to meet or communicate with their families for the past six months.”
Last month, Iran retrieved the body of a pilot named Majid Kazemi from Qatar. These four pilots had taken their aircraft to the Al-Udeid airbase in early March.
At that time, Iran had reported the other three pilots missing. But this is the first time it has stated that Qatar has detained them.
Al-Udeid is the largest US airbase in the Middle East.
Source: AFP