IRGC spokesman Hossein Makhabi claimed that Iran's armed forces destroyed 11 American aircraft and helicopters on the ground, 17 UAVs (including 8 new ones), and specifically named an F-15 fighter jet, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, a C-17 transport aircraft, and 8 aerial refueling aircraft over 15 days of fighting. The claims are unverified and come from a single IRGC source.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Makhabi issued a statement Saturday evening claiming that Iran's armed forces have destroyed 28 US aircraft over 15 days of fighting. The claim includes 11 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters destroyed on the ground, 17 UAVs (eight of which were described as new and unused), and specifically lists an F-15 fighter jet, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, a C-17 transport aircraft, and eight aerial refueling aircraft. The figures are significantly higher than any previous IRGC claim regarding US aircraft losses. The statement is unverified, and no independent sources have confirmed any destruction of US aircraft. The IRGC has made a series of similar unverified claims about attacking US assets in recent weeks, as previously reported by The Zioneer, including claims of destroying 85 US military installations and striking a missile base in Kuwait. Without independent confirmation, the claims remain unsubstantiated.
2 developments
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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