Three military pilots held captive in Qatar since March: Iranian media

Tehran [Iran], August 15 (ANI): Three military pilots have been captured by Qatari forces after two Iranian Su-24 fighter jets were downed during a March operation against the US base in Qatar, Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.

According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Bagherzadeh, Commander of the Search Committee for the Missing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, said the three pilots have been identified as Javad Salehi, Abdol-Majid Dashtian, and Emran Behrushian. Bagherzadeh said they have been held by Qatari forces for the past six months.

He further claimed that the Qatari government has so far not allowed the three pilots to meet one another, be interviewed, or have contact with their families or Iranian officials pursuing their case.

The Iranian news agency said the Iranian official called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given access to the pilots.

"According to the Third Geneva Convention, the International Red Cross must meet with the Iranian pilots in Qatar as soon as possible, investigate their health status, and facilitate the conditions for their release," Fars reported.

There was no immediate comment from Qatar on the Iranian claim.

Last month, Iran's army said it had retrieved the body of Iranian pilot Majid Kazemi, who was killed during a strike on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in early March.

Iran's Army last month announced that DNA testing had confirmed the death of Kazemi, one of the Iranian Air Force's Su-24 pilots involved in the March operation.

According to the Tasnim report, the two Iranian Air Force Su-24 bombers had taken off from Shahid Doran Air Base in Shiraz on March 2 in response to the "savage and treacherous attacks" by the US military and Israel.

The Army claimed that the aircraft penetrated advanced detection systems and multiple radar positions before carrying out a bombing raid on the US-operated Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, causing heavy damage to the facility.

It said the two aircraft were subsequently struck by enemy air defence systems over the Persian Gulf while returning from the operation, after which Iranian authorities continued efforts to determine the fate of three pilots. (ANI)

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