Pentagon investigating drone lost over Syria

The Pentagon is investigating the loss of control of one of its drones flying over Syria, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

The announcement comes after Syria’s state-run news agency claimed the Syrian military shot down a U.S. drone. 

{mosads}”Syrian Air Defense systems shot down a U.S. UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) north of Latakia Province,” the Syrian Arab News Agency’s said, according to CNN.

A defense official confirmed U.S. military controllers lost control with a U.S. MQ-1 Predator unarmed remotely piloted aircraft over northwest Syria, and said the Pentagon is looking into the incident. 

The official could not corroborate reports that the drone was shot down.

If true, it could highlight the risks that Syrian government forces pose to U.S. aircraft — a consideration that has reportedly prevented the administration from enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria.  

The U.S. is using armed drones for airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the U.S.-led coalition effort against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as well as unarmed surveillance drones in both places.