After an Iraqi villager’s selfie with a purported U.S. drone emerged online, the Pentagon confirmed it lost the plane in southern Iraq last week.
A spokesperson told BuzzFeed a U.S. Army-operated MQ-1 Gray Eagle crashed while returning to a recovery base, and that “technical complications caused a loss of communication.”
Iraqi freelance journalist Steven Nabil received pictures of the drone from Twitter followers. Villagers found the aircraft in Samawah province, according to Nabil.
A U.S drone crashed in the desert of Samawa province in southern iraq earlier today pic.twitter.com/VbQiCPJFJ6
— Steven Nabil (@stevoiraq) July 21, 2015
The Gray Eagle, worth $21 million, can be loaded with Hellfire and Stinger missiles, but this drone wasn’t armed. U.S. and Iraqi officials are working to recover the aircraft, BuzzFeed reports.
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