A US military drone crashed north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday evening.
A few hours earlier, a pro-Iranian group claimed to have fired on an American aircraft.
An American drone “
crashed near the Balad air base, in Iraq
,” late Thursday evening, an American official told AFP, without specifying what type of device it was.
“
Iraqi security forces recovered the aircraft.
There were no reports of injuries
,” he added.
An investigation has been opened.
The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a nebula of fighters from pro-Iranian armed groups opposed to the United States, declared on Friday that it had fired the day before on an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, which can carry out surveillance and surveillance missions. 'attack.
Fighters “
targeted yesterday (...) an MQ-9 drone belonging to the American occupier
,” this entity declared in a press release.
The United States and its allies have suffered more than 140 attacks in Iraq and Syria - including many claimed by the "
Islamic Resistance in Iraq
" - since mid-October, according to a Pentagon count.
Also read: Pakistan responds after Iranian strikes on its territory
Call to leave Iraq
On Thursday, the Iraqi Prime Minister reiterated his call for the departure of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington from Iraq, saying that putting an end to the mission of these foreign troops was “
a necessity for the security and stability
” of the country.
The Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday that he was not aware of an official request from the Iraqis.
Washington has around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and nearly 900 in Syria fighting IS with the international coalition launched in 2014.