UK warplane shoots down 'hostile' drone near US base in Syria
The latest drone incursion comes as indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are on thin ice.
British fighter jets shot down a drone approaching al-Tanf base in Syria on Tuesday night, the UK’s Defense Ministry said in a statement today.
The incident is the latest in a series of pinprick attacks believed to be launched by Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq against US and international coalition troops in the wake of the war against the Islamic State (IS).
US Central Command and the Pentagon on Thursday both confirmed the incident.
Press secretary John Kirby said two unmanned drones were detected entering the 55-kilometer buffer zone surrounding al-Tanf outpost, which houses US special operations troops and Syrian militia fighters on Syria’s remote southern border with Iraq and Jordan.
