Syria claims to shoot down US recon aircraft

Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria

Syrian state media said the country’s air defenses shot down a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft Tuesday in a northwestern province along the Mediterranean coast.

A U.S. official said a U.S. Predator drone went down in Syria, but it’s not clear whether it was shot down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pentagon had not yet announced the loss, said U.S. officials were trying to determine why operators of the drone lost control of it.

Syria’s SANA state news agency said the aircraft was downed north of the coastal city of Latakia. It provided no further details. State television broadcast footage of what it said was the wreckage, including a wheel and electronic parts.

If confirmed, it would be the first American aircraft to go down over Syria since the U.S. expanded its aerial campaign against the Islamic State extremist group to the country in September.