An American-made MQ-9 Reaper combat UAV has crashed in West Africa. This happened on February 18 this year. Officially, the information has not yet been confirmed, but a Telegram account reported the incident. He refers to the remains of the drone, which is believed to be an MQ-9.
The drone crashed in territory controlled by the Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen group. This group is linked to the declared terrorist organization al-Qaeda. According to the author of the post in Telegram, the place where the drone crashed is 200 km from Timbuktu. The author does not mention the exact location of the incident.
The author claims that al-Qaeda-linked fighters took the remains of the drone. Residents, however, managed to take pictures before parting with the remains. The photos show components and parts from two American companies – General Atomics and L3 Communications. The surviving remains of the landing gear also closely resemble that of the MQ-9.
At the moment, no country operating this drone has announced its absence. France, which still has a military presence in the region, operates the MQ-9. The French are particularly active in using their American drone in the Sahel region.
Source: Bulgarian Military