A Democratic member of the United States Congress has claimed that 39 American aircraft were destroyed during the war with Iran, raising fresh questions about the scale of US military losses during the conflict.Congressman Edward Case made the remarks during a special Senate committee hearing where he questioned Pentagon Chief Financial Officer Jay Hurst about the damage suffered by American forces.

During the hearing, Case repeatedly pressed the Pentagon official over reports of military losses in the Iran conflict. Observers said Hurst gave unclear and indirect answers to several questions related to the extent of the damage.The claims were linked to a report published by the American website The War Zone, which stated that the US Air Force carried out around 13,000 flights during the 39-day war against Iran.

According to the report, 39 American aircraft were destroyed during the conflict, while another 10 aircraft suffered varying degrees of damage.The report further suggested that the actual number of destroyed aircraft could be significantly higher than publicly acknowledged.Neither the Pentagon nor US military officials have publicly confirmed the figures mentioned during the hearing. However, the issue has intensified debate in Washington over the human and material cost of the conflict with Iran.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)