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Sorry - this page has been removed. US loses drone over Syria, which claims to have brought it down
(2 months later)
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. The United States lost contact with an unarmed Predator drone over Syria on Tuesday, US officials said, stopping short of confirming the plane was taken down by Syrian air defences, as reported by Syrian state media.
Related: US launches reconnaissance flights over Syria
For further information, please contact: “At this time, we have no information to corroborate press reports that the aircraft was shot down,” a US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We are looking into the incident and will provide more details when available.“
Another US official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said flatly the United States could not “determine the cause yet”, without elaborating.
It was the first such incident since the US-led coalition began carrying out air strikes against the hardline militant Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria last summer.
US officials have previously described Syrian skies as relatively passive, noting that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad had not taken aim at coalition aircraft flying over its territory.
But earlier on Tuesday, Syria’s state news agency Sana said its air defences brought down a US surveillance plane in the coastal province of Latakia.
“Syrian air defences brought down a hostile US surveillance plane in northern Latakia,” Sana said in a bulletin, without giving further details.