Trump acknowledges US attack helicopter crash near Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that an American military attack helicopter has gone down near the Strait of Hormuz, confirming a relevant report issued amid Iran's decisive retaliation against Washington's incessant violations of a ceasefire with the Islamic Republic.

Trump made the remarks late on Monday local time, speaking to journalists at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The comments came after The New York Times carried the report, saying the aircraft went down in the area of the strategic waterway earlier that day.

Citing two people familiar with the incident, the daily said it remains "unclear" what caused the incident.

It was not known whether the Apache helicopter had been shot down, suffered a technical malfunction, or gone down for some other reason, it added.

Trump, however, added, "The pilots are fine." "Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow."

The US president announced the ceasefire on April 7 after at least 100 waves of successful Iranian retaliation in the face of the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression targeting the Islamic Republic.

The announcement also followed Iran's closing down the Strait of Hormuz to enemies and their allies. Tehran then proceeded to devise a new management mechanism for the strait and confront trespassing vessels.

Last month, a Congressional report said the American military had lost at least 42 aircraft during the aggression's 40-day span, with estimated costs reaching billions of dollars.

The report, prepared for Congress using information from the US Department of War, United States Central Command, and military media outlets, estimated the total cost of the aircraft losses at approximately $2.6 billion.

According to the document, the losses included warplanes, surveillance aircraft, refueling planes, combat rescue helicopters, and drones.

Among the aircraft destroyed or damaged were four F-15E Strike Eagle warplanes, one F-35A Lightning II, one A-10 Thunderbolt II, seven KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes, and one E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft.

The report also listed the loss of two MC-130J Commando II aircraft, one HH-60W Jolly Green II, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones, and one MQ-4C Triton.

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