04-06 17:08 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Albert Mazibuko sang in the iconic South African choral group for more than 55 years.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo's 'wise elder' dies aged 77
Albert Mazibuko, who sang in iconic South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo for more than five decades, has died aged 77.
The musician's death on Sunday came after a short illness, the choral group posted on their Facebook page.
Mazibuko joined Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1969 and the collective went on to win five Grammy awards and feature on Paul Simon's acclaimed 1986 Graceland album.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo paid tribute to Mazibuko on Monday, describing him as "kind to a fault" and a "saint" who acted as a "wise elder" for the group's younger members.
"He loved traveling the world, spreading the mission and music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo," the statement said.
"He never tired of talking about the group's history and its desire to spread 'peace, love and harmony' everywhere people had ears to listen."
Mazibuko grew up in the eastern town of uMnambithi, formally known as Ladysmith, and left school early in order to work full-time on a farm.
His cousin, Joseph Shabalala, founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1960 and eventually asked Mazibuko to join.
The group fused indigenous Zulu songs and dances with South African isicathamiya, an acapella tradition frequently accompanied by a soft, shuffling style of dance.
A radio performance in 1970 led to a recording contract, and in 1973 they released Africa's first gold-selling album, Amabutho.
They achieved global recognition after US star Paul Simon recruited them to sing on the multi-million-selling album Graceland. Simon was criticised at the time for breaking the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang songs of hope and unity during the dark decades of that system of legalised racism.
"I was working at a cotton factory... when we came out from work we saw the police, they were lining up," he recalled.
Mazibuko and his colleagues were asked to produce their ID books, tools used by the apartheid regime to restrict the movement of black South Africans.
"If you don't carry it, you're arrested. In my life i was so afraid of being arrested… even now I'm afraid."
The current Ladysmith Black Mambazo line-up is a mix of long-standing members and newer, younger musicians.
The outfit had been touring in the US since February and were due to play their last stateside show on Friday.
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04-06 17:08 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
More than 100 people, mostly children, have been killed by measles since mid-March, officials suspect.
Emergency jabs after 100 children die of suspected measles in a month in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has launched an emergency vaccination campaign after a fast-spreading measles outbreak is suspected of killing more than 100 people, mostly children, in what may be the country's most lethal wave of the disease in recent history.
The campaign, which began on Sunday, comes amid more than 7,500 suspected measles cases since 15 March, according to health ministry data.
More than 900 of these cases have been confirmed - a sharp increase from 2025, when just 125 measles cases were recorded over the entire year, local media report.
While Bangladesh has long vaccinated children against the highly contagious disease, the recent outbreak has exposed gaps in its programme, raising concern.
"Vaccines are foundational to child survival," Rana Flowers, the Unicef representative in Bangladesh, said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the current measles outbreak was "putting thousands of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, at serious risk."
Why is there a spike in measles in Bangladesh?
In Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people, routine measles vaccines are given to children as young as nine months old.
But Shahriar Sajjad, deputy director of the Health Department, told BBC Bangla that about one-third of those infected in the recent outbreak were under nine months old.
The infections of these young infants "who are not yet eligible for routine vaccination, are especially alarming", said Flowers from Unicef.
On top of routine vaccinations, Bangladesh conducts special measles vaccination campaigns every four years.
But these campaigns haven't gone according to plan.
There have been no special measles vaccination campaigns since 2020, first because of Covid then because of the "political situation", Sajjad told BBC Bangla.
Bangladesh experienced political upheaval in 2024, when massive anti-government protests toppled its long-ruling leader Sheikh Hasina. An interim government took over after Hasina's ousting, and only in February this year did the country elect a new government.
A measles vaccination campaign was supposed to be held in April this year, "but it did not happen", Sajjad said.
A health official said procurement issues had led to a shortage of vaccines, including for measles, the Daily Star reported.
Many in Bangladesh have blamed the vaccine shortages on the former interim government, which oversaw a new vaccine procurement system.
But measles resurgences "are typically the result of these accumulated gaps rather than a single factor", Unicef said in its statement.
"Bangladesh has a strong history of high immunisation coverage, but even small disruptions can lead to the gradual accumulation of immunity gaps over time."
What is Bangladesh doing about it?
Along with international partners like Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh has launched an emergency vaccination campaign for measles and rubella , a milder disease with similar symptoms to measles.
This campaign, which started on Sunday, will be rolled out across 30 upazilas - sub-districts in Bangladesh - and targets more than 1.2 million children between six months and five years old.
The campaign will prioritise "children who have missed routine immunisation and are most vulnerable to severe illness and complications", according to Unicef.
There will also be a particular focus on Dhaka, the densely populated capital, and Cox's Bazar, home to crowded Rohingya refugee camps, Unicef said.
Besides the vaccination drive, health authorities are also publishing infographics that teach people how to identify and prevent measles.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease, which can lead to severe complication and death.
Common symptoms include:
- high fever
- sore, red and watery eyes
- coughing
- sneezing
In 2024, an estimated 95,000 people were killed by measles around the world - most of them children under five years old, according to the WHO.
Measles can be prevented through vaccination - but according to the WHO, 95% of the population has to be vaccinated in order to stop the disease from spreading.
Are measles cases rising around the world?
Over the past two decades, the number of global measles cases and deaths resulting from the disease have fallen sharply.
There were 11 million cases of measles worldwide in 2024 - a significant decrease from 38 million in 2000, according to the WHO.
But the organisation has warned about a resurgence in parts of the world as vaccination rates fall. In 2024 and 2025, the world saw the highest number of measles outbreaks in more than 20 years, according to medical journal The Lancet.
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04-06 17:08 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in what authorities believe was an abduction.
'Really feeling the love' - Savannah Guthrie returns to NBC as search for mother goes on
US television presenter Savannah Guthrie has returned to NBC's Today show, telling her co-anchors it was "good to be back", as the search for her mother continues.
It was her first appearance in the studio since 30 January, two days before her 84-year-old mother Nancy was reported missing.
Her co-anchors noted on Monday that many fans were standing outside the studios on a chilly New York morning carrying signs welcoming Guthrie back. "I'm really feeling the love," she said in response.
Investigators believe Nancy Guthrie, who was last seen on 31 January, was taken against her will from her home near Tucson, Arizona, but they have not shared a possible motive or arrested a suspect.
Before giving his typical weather report, NBC forecaster Al Roker blew her a kiss and said: "It's good to see you my dear."
Guthrie carried on with the news as usual, telling viewers about the Artemis moon mission and the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament finals.
Last month she said it was "part of my purpose right now" to return to work although she was unsure if she would still be able to do it.
On Easter Sunday, Savannah Guthrie reaffirmed her Christian faith in an Easter video message from a church in New York.
The NBC presenter, one of the most recognisable figures on morning television in the US, had temporarily stepped away from her anchoring duties after her mother's disappearance.
She also stood down from NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics.
In an interview last month with Today, she said: "I can't not come back. This is my family."
She also raised the possibility that her own fame may have been behind her mother's disappearance, saying that thought was too much to bear.
Nancy Guthrie vanished without her medicines. She was dropped off at her home by relatives on the evening of 31 January and then failed to show up at a friend's house to watch a virtual Sunday service the following morning.
The family announced in February a $1m reward for information leading to her return.
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04-06 17:08 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
As the astronauts pass behind the Moon they will experience a moment of silence and solitude as communication with the Earth is blocked.
The 40 minutes when the Artemis crew loses contact with the Earth
No-one will have been further from home than the Artemis astronauts.
But as the Earth shrinks ever smaller in their rear-view mirror, they've had a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. The calm words from the Nasa team have given the crew a comforting link with home.
That link is about to be lost.
As the astronauts pass behind the Moon at about 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) on Monday, the radio and laser signals that allow the back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.
For about 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings, travelling through the darkness of space. A profound moment of solitude and silence.
Artemis pilot Victor Glover told us he hopes the world will use the time to come together.
"When we're behind the Moon, out of contact with everybody, let's take that as an opportunity," he told BBC News before the mission. "Let's pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew."
More than 50 years ago, the Apollo astronauts also experienced the isolation brought by a loss of signal during their missions to the Moon.
Perhaps none more so than Apollo 11's Michael Collins.
In 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history taking the first steps on the lunar surface, Collins was alone in the command module, orbiting the Moon.
As his craft passed behind the far side, contact with the pair on the lunar surface, as well as with mission control, vanished for 48 minutes.
He described the experience in his 1974 memoir Carrying the Fire, saying he felt "truly alone" and "isolated from any known life", but that he did not feel fear or loneliness.
In later interviews, he described the peace and tranquillity brought by the radio silence, saying it offered a break from the constant requests from mission control.
More on Artemis II
Back on Earth, the blackout will be a tense time for those with the job of maintaining contact with the spacecraft.
At the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, in the south-west of England, a huge antenna has been collecting signals from the Orion capsule, carefully pinpointing its position throughout its journey, and feeding this information back to Nasa HQ.
Matt Cosby, Goonhilly's chief technology officer, told the BBC: "This is the first time we're tracking a spacecraft with humans on it.
"We're going to get slightly nervous as it goes behind the Moon, and then we'll be very excited when we see it again, because we know that they're all safe."
But the hope is these dropouts in communications could soon become a thing of the past. And Cosby says that will be essential as Nasa – and other space agencies around the world – begin to build a Moon base and ramp up further exploration.
"For a sustainable presence on the Moon, you need the full comms - you need the full 24 hours a day, even on the far side, because the far side will want to be explored as well," he said.
Programmes like the European Space Agency's Moonlight are planning to launch a network of satellites around the Moon to provide continuous and reliable communication coverage in the future.
For the Artemis astronauts, their time without contact with the Earth will allow them to devote all of their attention to the Moon.
They'll spend the blackout dedicated to lunar observation – taking images, studying the Moon's geology and simply gazing at its splendour.
When they emerge from the Moon's shadow, and that signal is re-established, the world will breathe a collective sigh of relief.
And the history-making astronauts will be able to share their incredible views with everyone back home.
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04-06 01:06 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The rescue could impact how Trump views a ground operation to take Kharg Island or to seize enriched uranium sites.
Trump declares victory after rescue but threats to US operation in Iran still loom
US President Donald Trump was swift to declare victory after the second crew member of a F-15 fighter jet downed over Iran was recovered, claiming that the dramatic and successful rescue in Iranian territory "proves, once again, that we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority".
Observers, however, paint a more complicated picture of what this means for the US in Iran.
While the mission was a success, the events of the last few days - in which two aircraft were downed and at least one helicopter was hit by gunfire - highlight that threats to US aircraft and personnel remain even after weeks of heavy US and Israeli strikes against Iran's military infrastructure and boasts from the president that Tehran had "no anti-aircraft equipment" left.
Several Washington sources who spoke to the BBC speculated that the loss of aircraft and the complexity of the operation to recover the pilots could potentially dissuade Trump from any ground operation to take control of Iran's key oil export terminal at Kharg Island and other sites in the Gulf, or to seize highly enriched uranium buried deep underground in Iran.
These operations – scoped by military planners and presented to the president as options – are deeply complex and risk exposing US forces to lingering Iranian capabilities, including difficult-to-find man portable air defence systems, known as Manpads, which are shoulder-launched missiles most effective against low-flying aircraft.
On the other hand, the fact that US troops were able to enter a contested environment, and set up a forward airfield and refuelling point under the nose of the Iranians - then hold it for hours while two stuck aircraft were destroyed and replacements sent - might embolden him.
It could convince the administration that an airborne or amphibious operation against targets in Iran stands a good chance of success.
That message is one that would be heard, loud and clear, by US service members flying over Iranian skies as the conflict goes on, and by those preparing for a potential deployment.
Trump has also has sent mixed messages about the path forward, telling reporters in a series of phone calls on Sunday that he believes a "deal" with Iran could be just around the corner.
If that fails, he has said repeatedly on Truth Social, the clock is ticking on a self-imposed deadline to begin striking Iranian power plants and bridges.
If the Strait of Hormuz was not opened, he posted in an expletive-laden message on Sunday to the Iranian regime, they would be "living in Hell". In a brief phone interview with Fox, Trump also suggested he might move to "take" Iran's oil, without providing further details.
An expanded campaign against Iranian infrastructure and energy targets would represent an escalation, with human rights groups warning of the impact on civilians and potential war crimes.
The president's critics are likely to take it as a sign of Trump's frustration that the US has been unable to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global corridor for oil and other commodities.
So far, the president's supporters have rallied behind the administration and its effort to rescue the crew members.
For Trump, the rescue represents a "win" both in the eyes of the public and those inside the US military.
The rescue served to reinforce the administration's willingness to put other Americans in harm's way in an effort to abide by the ethos in the Soldier's Creed that no US service member would be abandoned.
But some - even fervent Maga supporters - have already grown uncomfortable with the prospect of an expensive, messy war with an unclear endgame which could lead to US casualties.
However, the recovery of the two pilots robbed Iran of what would have amounted to a massive propaganda victory.
The sight of US military personnel in Iranian captivity would have very likely become the primary war-related story in the US and hijacked Trump's narrative of a quick, clean victory.
Trump's comments over the weekend stand in contrast to several he made last week, including a televised address on 1 April, in which he suggested that the US had already created the conditions necessary for other countries to engage in the Strait. "Take it, protect it, use it for yourselves," he told allies.
Trump had also recently suggested that he was willing to "leave" Iran even if a deal eluded him.
But he now appears to have shifted course in the hopes that doubling down on the threat of devastating attacks on the country's core infrastructure can prompt Tehran's leadership to come to the table.
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04-06 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Pope Leo XIV addressed thousands of worshippers gathered in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday in his first address as pontiff.
Pope Leo calls for global leaders to choose peace in his first Easter Mass
Thousands of worshippers flocked to St Peter's Square on Sunday to hear Pope Leo XIV deliver his first Easter Mass address as pontiff.
Framed by white roses on the central balcony of the Vatican's basilica, the pope called on "those who have the power to unleash wars" to choose peace.
"On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars," he said.
The first US-born pope has become a vocal critic of the Iran war, and has used recent public addresses to denounce global conflicts and urge de-escalation.
Pope Leo waved to the crowd gathered in the square below before delivering his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing - Latin for "to the city and the world".
St Peter's Square was decorated with bright spring blooms, with rows of daffodils and thousands of purple, red and white flowers arranged for the Easter Mass.
"We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent, indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people," the pope said in his address.
"Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace."
In a break with recent tradition, Leo did not explicitly name any country or conflict in his message.
Referring to the Easter story of Christ's resurrection, three days after he was nailed to the cross, he said Jesus had been "entirely nonviolent" in the face of suffering.
For Christians, Easter is the most important date in the liturgical calendar, marking the resurrection of Christ - a central tenet of the faith.
As bells rang out across the Vatican and the crowd applauded, Leo concluded his blessing by offering Easter greetings in several languages, including Latin, Arabic and Chinese.
The pope also announced that he would return to the basilica on 11 April to lead a prayer vigil for peace.
Leo has repeatedly denounced ongoing global conflicts in recent weeks, using a series of Holy Week addresses to warn against what he has described as a growing indifference to war and suffering.
In his sermon during Saturday night's Easter vigil, the pontiff urged believers not to feel numbed by the scale of global conflicts but to work actively for reconciliation.
He made a rare direct appeal to Donald Trump on Tuesday, urging the US President to find an "off-ramp" to end the conflict with Iran.
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04-06 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The incident comes a week before the polls, and follow warnings of a potential operations staged to influence voters.
Hungary alleges plot to blow up gas pipeline ahead of election
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were found near a pipeline that transports Russian gas to Hungary.
The discovery in a border area of neighbouring Serbia comes as Orban's party is badly trailing in opinion polls ahead of crucial elections next Sunday.
Opposition leader Peter Magyar accused him of "panic-mongering" orchestrated by "Russian advisers", days after security experts warned of a possible "false flag" operation that could be blamed on Ukraine.
Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has resisted EU calls to abandon Russian energy imports since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In recent weeks Hungarian security experts have raised the possibility of a staged operation, either on Hungarian or Serbian territory, intended to arouse enough sympathy for Orban to help his Fidesz party win the election - or to give Orban an excuse to declare an emergency and postpone or cancel the vote.
Serbian President Alexander Vucic, a close ally of Orban, informed the Hungarian leader of the discovery on Sunday morning.
Two rucksacks full of explosives and detonators were found by the Serbian army near the village of Tresnjevac in the Kanjiza district, about 20km (12 miles) from the point where the TurkStream pipeline crosses into Hungary.
"Our units found an explosive of devastating power," Vucic said in a post on Instagram. "I told PM Orban that we would keep him updated on the investigation."
Hungary receives between five and eight billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year through the TurkStream pipeline, which both Hungary and Slovakia depend on for Russian gas.
Balint Pasztor, president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association, and another key Orban ally, posted on Facebook: "If the investigation proves that we were not the primary target after all, but rather Hungary's supply lines, then this makes it even clearer: the terrorist attack was planned with the aim of bringing down Viktor Orban."
Fidesz has made hostility to Ukraine a cornerstone of its election campaign.
At election rallies Orban has told supporters that low heating and fuel prices in Hungary are only possible thanks to cheap Russian oil and gas, both of which arrive in Hungary by pipeline - oil through Ukraine, and gas through the Balkans.
Orban alleges that a "Kyiv-Brussels-Berlin" axis is conspiring to stop Hungary getting cheap Russian fuel, to impose their "puppet" prime minister Magyar in the upcoming election. A Tisza government, Orban says, would also drag Hungary into a European war against Russia.
Orban has already accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of imposing "an oil blockade" on Hungary, because no Russian oil has arrived through the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory, since the end of January.
Ukraine says the pipeline was damaged in a Russian attack, and should be functional again in-mid April.
There have been no official allegations of Ukrainian involvement in the pipeline incident so far. But one well-informed Serbian source told the BBC this could happen as early as Monday, when Serbian authorities are expected to release the first results of their investigation.
The Ukrainian government pre-empted any accusations of involvement on Sunday. "Ukraine has nothing to do with this," foreign ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyy said in a post on X. "Most probably, a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow's heavy interference in Hungarian elections."
On 2 April, Hungarian security expert Andras Racz warned on Facebook that a "fake attack" on the TurkStream pipeline could be staged inside Serbia.
Racz also predicted that the explosives would be identified as Ukrainian, allowing Orban to once again point the finger of blame at Kyiv.
"We had some solid preliminary information about this operation, including details about the place and possible timing," former senior Hungarian counter-intelligence officer, Peter Buda, told the BBC.
"It's clear that Ukraine's interests aren't at stake here. An operation like this would help Orban before the election by influencing public opinion in his favour.''
The Hungarian government insists the threat is real. "In the past few days and weeks, we've seen it all," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.
"The Ukrainians organised an oil blockade against us. Then they tried to impose a total energy blockade on us by firing dozens of drones at the TurkStream pipeline while it was still on Russian territory.
"And now we have today's incident, in which Serbian colleagues found explosives capable of blowing up the pipeline."
Opposition leader Peter Magyar accused Orban, in cahoots with the Serbian president, of staging the latest incident.
"He will not be able to prevent next Sunday's election. He will not be able to prevent millions of Hungarians from ending the most corrupt two decades in our co
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04-06 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The rescue could impact how Trump views a ground operation to take Kharg Island or to seize enriched uranium sites.
Analysis: Trump declares victory in Iran war after rescue, but threats to US operation still loom
US President Donald Trump was swift to declare victory after the second crew member of an F-15 downed over Iran was recovered, claiming on Sunday that the dramatic and successful rescue in Iranian territory "proves, once again, that we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority".
Observers, however, paint a more complicated picture of what this means for the US in Iran.
While the mission was a success, the events of the last few days - in which two aircraft were downed and at least one helicopter hit by gunfire - highlight that threats to US aircraft and personnel remain even after weeks of heavy US and Israeli strikes against Iran's military infrastructure and boasts from the president that Tehran had "no anti-aircraft equipment" left.
Several Washington sources who spoke to the BBC speculated that the loss of aircraft and the complexity of the operation to recover the pilots could potentially dissuade Trump from any ground operation to take Kharg Island and sites in the Persian Gulf, or to seize highly enriched uranium buried deep underground in Iran.
These operations – scoped by military planners and presented to the president as options – are deeply complex and risk exposing US forces to lingering Iranian capabilities, including difficult-to-find man portable air defence systems, known as Manpads, which are shoulder-launched weapons most effective against low flying aircraft.
On the other hand, the fact that US troops were able to enter a contested environment, and set up a forward airfield and refueling point under the nose of the Iranians - then hold it for hours while two stuck aircraft were destroyed and replacements sent - might embolden him.
It could convince the administration that an airborne or amphibious operation against targets in Iran stands a good chance of success.
Trump also has sent mixed messages about the path forward, telling reporters in a series of phone calls on Sunday that he believes a "deal" with Iran could be just around the corner.
If that fails, he has said repeatedly on Truth Social, the clock is ticking on a self-imposed deadline to begin striking Iranian power plants and bridges. If the Strait of Hormuz was not opened, he posted in an expletive-laden message on Sunday to the Iranian regime, they would be "living in Hell". In a brief phone interview with Fox, Trump also suggested he might move to "take" Iran's oil, without providing further details.
An expanded campaign against Iranian infrastructure and energy targets would represent an escalation, with human rights groups warning of the impact on civilians and potential violations of international law. The president's critics are likely to take it as a sign of Trump's frustration that the US has been unable to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global corridor for oil and other commodities.
Trump's comments over the weekend stand in contrast to several he made last week, including a televised address on 1 April, in which he suggested that the US had already created the conditions necessary for other countries to engage in the Strait. "Take it, protect it, use it for yourselves," he told allies.
Trump had also recently suggested that he was willing to "leave" Iran even if a deal eluded him. But he now appears to have shifted course in the hopes that doubling down on the threat of devastating attacks on the country's core infrastructure can prompt Tehran's leadership to come to the table.
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04-06 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The operation to extract him from the ground in hostile territory was hugely complex and involved multiple US government agencies.
How rescue of US airman in remote part of Iran unfolded
The US military has rescued a missing crew member in a dramatic mission after his fighter jet was shot down in a remote part of Iran.
The exact circumstances remain unclear, but the operation to extract him from the ground in hostile territory was hugely complex.
Dozens of special forces, as well as US warplanes and helicopters, were involved in the plan, along with the CIA, US media reported.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said on social media: "We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran."
But the airman's ordeal began on Friday with reports that an F-15 jet, which was carrying a weapons systems officer and a pilot, had been shot down over southern Iran.
The incident was the first in which a US fighter jet was shot down by enemy fire in more than 20 years.
The two US military personnel on board the F-15E Strike Eagle managed to eject from the aircraft, and the pilot was rescued the same day, but the second crew member was missing.
The US then began a race against time to locate him.
Iran made it clear they wished to capture him alive and offered a bounty of £50,000 ($66,100).
Videos shared on social media, which have not been verified by the BBC, appeared to show armed civilians searching for him.
Once the officer was on the ground, he had only a handgun to defend himself, US officials said.
The airman would have received training for a situation like this, and it would have involved turning his beacon signal on, getting to high ground, concealing himself and establishing communications.
According to reports in US media, the airman hid himself in a mountain crevice and restricted the use of his beacon - concerned the signal could be picked up by Iran.
He then reportedly waited for his rescuers to arrive.
The CIA played a crucial role in the rescue operation, according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke to US media.
It was the US intelligence agency that tracked the airman's exact location to the mountain crevice and passed the information along to the Pentagon.
Trump said his location was monitored "24 hours a day" by US officials who were planning the rescue operation.
The officer was "being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour," the president added.
The CIA also ran a deception campaign, according to reports, spreading word inside Iran that US forces had already found the second airman.
The president said in his Truth Social post that the US military "sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him".
As US special forces made their way towards the stranded officer, bombs and weapons fire were used to keep Iranian troops away from his location, reports say.
US media also reported that two transport planes that were intended to fly out rescue crews were unable to take off from a remote base inside Iran, and were then destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. Special forces then flew out on three extra aircraft to collect the crews, the reports added.
Footage and photos confirmed by BBC Verify appeared to show a smouldering aircraft wreckage in a mountainous area of central Iran, about 50km (30 miles) southeast of the city of Isfahan.
Iran's military said two US C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed during the operation - and that "a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan…was completely foiled".
Iranian state media said on Sunday that troops from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had shot down a US drone over Isfahan while it was searching for the missing airman.
The BBC has not been able to confirm either version of events near Isfahan.
Before midnight US time the rescue was complete, and the airman was flown to Kuwait for medical treatment, officials said. Trump said the officer was "seriously wounded", but "he will be just fine".
US authorities have not disclosed any information about the airman's exact location when he was rescued, or his identity.
Former US military official William Fallon - a retired US Navy admiral - told the BBC that "time of day" probably worked in the rescue mission's favour. "Darkness is better for our people because they're used to operating at night."
Fallon says that when flying over hostile territory, "you have to be prepared to be the person that's hit".
Just before 00:00 EDT (04:00 GMT) on Sunday US media broke the news that the second pilot had been found.
Trump wrote on social media that the US would "NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!"
Iran insisted that the operation had been a failure. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran's main military command, said in a video address that several US military aircraft had been forced to make emergency landings.
"The ignorant president, trapped in the swamp of the war and aggression that he himself starte
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04-06 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The US president says he will destroy Iranian power plants and bridges if the vital waterway is not reopened.
Trump issues expletive-laden threat to Iran over Hormuz Strait blockage
US President Donald Trump has published an expletive-laden post on social media in which he threatened to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges if it failed to meet his Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping.
He repeated an earlier threat to unleash "hell" but told US media there was a "good chance" of a deal being reached with Tehran.
Iran mocked his ultimatum, dismissing it as "helpless, nervous and stupid".
Both the US and Iran had scrambled to locate the US serviceman in a mountainous region of south-western Iran. The pilot of the F-15 had been recovered shortly after the aircraft was shot down on Friday.
The incident came after more than a month of war, as Iran continued to respond to US and Israeli air strikes with attacks on Gulf nations allied to the two countries.
Iran has also significantly impeded transit in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas normally passes, leading to skyrocketing global oil prices and fears of higher inflation around the world.
The disruption led Trump in March to announce a series of deadlines for Iran to reopen the strait. On Sunday he took to his Truth Social platform to reaffirm this demand.
The paragraph below contains very strong language.
He said: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
Afterwards, he told Fox News there was a "good chance" a deal would be reached on Monday, but he was considering "blowing everything up and taking over the oil" if a deal to end the war was not reached quickly.
Later, the US president posted again - "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!" - an apparent extension of the deadline originally meant to expire on Monday, 6 April.
Trump has postponed deadlines for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz several times.
On 21 March, Trump initially threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not "FULLY OPEN" within 48 hours.
Two days later, he said he would not launch strikes for another five days - until 28 March - while "good" and "productive" talks with Iran continued. Iran denied any contact between its officials and the Trump administration had taken place.
As that date approached, Trump again delayed the deadline by a further 10 days, until 6 April. This is the date that the new 48-hour deadline has been extended from.
Gen Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi of Iran's central military command said Trump's threat was a "helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action", adding that "the gates of hell will open" for the US leader.
Meanwhile, Israel has attacked civilian Iranian infrastructure sites - a petrochemical facility on Saturday was the latest - and it was waiting for US approval to strike more energy facilities next week, according to defence officials.
US-Israeli strikes also hit the Qasem Soleimani international airport in south-western Iran on Sunday.
Iran has continued to fire drones and missiles at Israel and US Gulf allies.
A residential building in the Israeli city of Haifa was hit directly by a ballistic missile on Sunday. Four people were injured.
Earlier in the day, authorities in Abu Dhabi said they were battling fires at a Borouge petrochemical facility caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile.
Kuwait said strikes by Iranian drones had severely damaged oil and petrochemical facilities. Industrial and fuel plants were also targeted in Bahrain.
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