A US jet has shot down an Iranian-made drone
operated by forces backing the Syrian government in the south of the country, American officials say.
The drone was thought to be armed and
threatening US troops on the ground, officials
said.
It was shot down near Tanf, an outpost of the
US-led coalition.
This is the latest incident in the skies over
Syria, after the US shot down a Syrian fighter
plane on Sunday and another drone earlier
this month.
The F-15 plane downed the drone around
00:30 on Tuesday (21:30 GMT Monday) north-
east of Tanf, according to a US military
statement.
The shooting down underscores the growing
tensions in the region as a battle develops for
the control of eastern Syria, BBC Defence and
Diplomatic Correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.
Military officials who spoke to CNN described
it as a Shahed 129, a model unveiled by Iran
in 2012.
It is said by the Iranians to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and capable of carrying
bombs and missiles.
"They were threatening our forces on the ground," the US official quoted by AFP said.
"Their course was on a run toward our folks to drop a munitions on them."
The last drone the US says it shot down was
also reportedly destroyed near Tanf after firing
on coalition forces.
Tanf has been used by Western special forces
as well as Syrian rebel forces.
How dangerous is the situation in the region?
In Syria's complex civil war, the US backs some rebel groups opposed to President Assad, as well as fighters seeking to drive out the Islamic State (IS) group.
Syrian government forces and pro-government
militias, supported by Russia and Iran, are
fighting both rebel groups and IS.
Last month, US-led coalition aircraft bombed a
convoy of pro-Syrian government forces near
Tanf.
The Syrian plane destroyed on Sunday, a Su-22 fighter bomber, was hit after reportedly dropping bombs near the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province.
As well as announcing that US-led coalition
warplanes would be tracked, Russia's ministry
of defence suspended a hotline set up to
avoid clashes between US and Russian
aircraft over Syria.
Source: BBC
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