the rescue on social media on Sunday morning after the US military "pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations" in its history. The officer is "now SAFE and SOUND!" he added. Two crew members were on board the jet, and both ejected from the plane. One of them had already been rescued by US forces. Iranian officials said the warplane was shot down by its air defence system. Details around the rescue operation and how it unfolded are still emerging. Here is what we know so far.

The US and Iran were in a race to locate the missing crew member after the jet was downed over southern Iran. The exact circumstances of the US rescue remain unclear, but one person familiar with the operation described it as a "huge" combat search and rescue mission in southern Iran.

The BBC understands there was an engagement between the US and Iranian forces during the rescue, and the pilot may have been injured during his initial ejection from the aircraft. The rescue of crew members of a downed jet is one of the most complex and time-sensitive operations - known as combat search and rescue (CSAR) - that the US military and its allies prepare for. The air force units behind CSAR missions include some of the most highly trained and specialised members of the military.

The missions are often conducted by helicopters, which fly low over enemy territory, alongside other military aircraft that conduct strikes and patrol the area. In his social media post, Trump said the airman - a colonel - "was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour". Officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the crew member spent more than 24 hours on his own, hiding in the mountains with a handgun.

The president added the airman's location was monitored "24 hours a day" by senior US officials who were planning the rescue operation. A senior official also told CBS that the CIA played a crucial role in the rescue mission by tracking the airman in a mountain crevice and passing his exact location to the Pentagon. (BBC)