Report drone was returning to its base after an intelligence mission when it had “technical complications”.
It’s the third drone the Pentagon has lost in recent in months as technical problems caused the crash of a military UAV in Iraq in May, while another was shot down in Syria in March this year.
Throughout the month of July, as Western nations accelerated their fight against the Islamic State militant group, USA forces increased drone use to carry out air strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria. According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the drone was flying a combat mission when it crashed, though authorities maintain the plane was not brought down by enemy fire.
