An American surveillance UAS apparently has crashed in the Somali port town of Kismayo, about 500 kilometers south of Mogadishu,which is controlled by the militant group al-Shabab.Witnesses in Kismayo said that the unmanned aircraft crashed on Sunday near the airport of the southern Somali city.
An al-Shabab website says that the aircraft belongs to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It says it carried large cameras with long-distance lenses attached. There are conflicting reports from witnesses and al-Shabab itself whether the aircraft was shot down or crashed on its own.
This the third such incident reported recently.
The U.S. has used unmanned aircraft to attack al-Shabab targets in Somalia in the past. The militant group is battling the Somali government and controls large sections of southern and central Somalia.
Source: Voice of America