Two armed US Predator drones crash in Iraq, Turkey

The US Air Force has lost control of two Predator drones, equipped with deadly munitions, in Turkey and Iraq, the US military said.

In the first incident which occurred on October 17, a Predator’s crew reported a “lost link and subsequent crash while the Predator was flying southeast of Baghdad,” military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said Wednesday.

Local Iraqi police returned the aircraft to US control after recovering it in the vicinity of al-Kut, a city in eastern Iraq. No injuries were reported, Warren said.

In another incident on October 19, the remotely piloted MQ-1 Predator “crashed” in southern Turkey, he said. According to local media, the drone came down in Turkey’s southern Hatay Province.

“The aircraft experienced mechanical failure. The Air Force in this case maintained positive control of the aircraft and brought it down safely in an unpopulated area,” Warren said.