US drone crashes in southern Somalia

An unmanned aerial vehicle reportedly belonging to the United States has crashed in the Lower Shabelle region in the south of Somalia.

According to local governor Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, the US spy drone crashed near the town of Bulamareer on Tuesday after al-Shabab militants shot at the aircraft, Reuters reported.

“Finally they hit it and the drone crashed,” Nur said.

The militants confirmed the crash in a statement but did not reveal that whether the US drone had been downed by them.

“A US drone has just crashed … in the Lower Shabelle region,” the statement said.

Washington has increasingly turned to unmanned aircraft to carry out covert strikes in several countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

The weak Western-backed government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years, and is propped up by a strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.