US military drone crashed in Iraq, officials say

The United States said Wednesday that an unarmed military surveillance drone crashed in Iraq last week after suffering technical complications.

The drone, an MQ-1, crashed on its way back to a recovery base after an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission, U.S. Central Command said. Communication was lost with the drone on July 16.

“We are working with Iraqi authorities to recover the aircraft,” an official said.

The drone crashed in the desert near Samawah, which is about 280 miles southwest of Baghdad, Reuters reported.