A heavily damaged building is pictured following a strike at the Azadi Sport Complex in Tehran. AFP
Iranian state media soon after shared images online of what appeared to be American aircraft flying over the area, including helicopters, planes and drones.
The province is mainly home to Iran’s Lur people, many of whom are farmers. The extreme south of the province is the start of Iran’s oil fields in the area.
The television channel in Iran’s Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province urged viewers, based on a police statement, to hand over any downed American pilots alive to security agencies to “receive a precious prize.” The anchor asked the public to cooperate with local authorities in the hunt.
This province is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southwest of Iran’s capital, Tehran. Its provincial capital is Yasuj. It is an intensely rural, mountainous area of Iran, home to around 600,000 people.
The Iranian channel showed metal debris in the back of a pickup truck while making the announcement. Iranian state media then shared images online of what appeared to be American aircraft flying over the area, including helicopters, planes and drones.
A major explosion from an airstrike struck Iran’s capital, Tehran, around the same time Friday afternoon. It wasn’t clear what had been hit.
Iran's Fars news agency said Friday the army had launched a search for the pilot of a US fighter jet hit by an air defence system.
Contacted by AFP, the US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for military operations in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today," Fars said.
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