BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone that was flying over a base housing Washington troops in northeast Syria, the U.S. military said.
The incident comes more than a week after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, followed by a significant decrease in violence in the war-torn country.
The reconnaissance drone flew over the Conoco mission support facility on Tuesday afternoon before being shot down, US Central Command said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the flight of the drone in northeast Syria, where bases are regularly targeted by US troops with rockets and mortars. Iran-backed militias are based nearby, as are sleeper cells of the extremist group Islamic State (ISIS), which was defeated in Syria in March 2019.
In Syria, around 900 troops, including in the north and further south and east, are working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against IS insurgents and their sleeper cells.