Iraqi Resistance claim downing of US drone
Shafaq News / Iraqi resistance factions announced on Friday the downing of a US reconnaissance drone on Iraqi soil.
In a statement released by the factions, they reported "targeting a MQ-9 drone affiliated with the American occupation on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 18:45 local time, in the skies of Diyala governorate."
The statement further revealed that the drone had originated from Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
The MQ-9 Reaper, previously known as Predator B, is an unmanned aerial vehicle produced by General Atomics. It is an enlarged version of the MQ-1 Predator, designed for combat and missile-launching capabilities.
Furthermore, it is believed to have been used in the attack on Baghdad International Airport in 2020, known as Operation Blue Lightning, where the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) was assassinated, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former deputy head of the Popular Mobilization (PMF) Committee, was killed.
Earlier on Friday, military journalist Lucas Tomlinson from the American network Fox News stated that Iran-backed armed factions had shot down a US drone, an MQ-9 model worth $32 million, on Thursday night in Diyala. Tomlinson posted on X that "for the second time since early November, forces aligned with Iran had downed an American MQ-9 drone in Iraq."
Local media and social media pages earlier circulated reports about a foreign object falling on Thursday night east of the Muqdadiyah district in Diyala.
