Iran shoots down US fighter jet over Iran: reports

Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet over the Islamic country, according to reports on Friday.

Unnamed U.S. and Israeli officials and Iranian state-affiliated media said the plane was shot down, The New York Times reported.

It is unknown what has happened to the plane's crew, and U.S. officials scrambled to mount a search and rescue operation before Iran could get to any survivors, the anonymous U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Iran on Friday claimed that a U.S. pilot had ejected from a military aircraft over southwestern Iran.

A channel affiliated with Iranian state television made the claim, according to the Associated Press. It was unclear what may have happened to the plane.

The anchor on the Iranian channel urged the public to turn over any “enemy pilot” to the police, and promised a reward for anyone who did. The channel is in Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, which is a rural and mountainous region.

During the announcement, the channel showed metal debris in the back of a pickup truck, but provided no other immediate details.

Earlier, an on-screen crawl urged people to “shoot them if you see them,” referring to social media footage of what appeared to be U.S. aircraft in the area.

Iran has made a series of claims throughout the war about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out to be false. However, this was the first time that Iranian television urged the public to look for a suspected downed pilot.

U.S. Central Command, the Defense Department and the White House as of Friday morning had yet to respond to the wire service's requests for comment.