Israeli drone crashes in south Lebanon

IDF confirms reports from Lebanon, says will investigate crash.

Israeli Drone (illustrative) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli Drone (illustrative)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An Israeli drone crashed in Lebanon on Saturday morning, an IDF spokeswoman confirmed. The plane was flying across the northern border on a regular surveillance mission when it fell from the sky.
Media outlets in Lebanon first reported that a drone had crashed in the southern town of Marjayoun. The Beirut-based Al-Manar TV station, which is associated with Hezbollah, broadcast images of the drone and said the Lebanese army had taken control of the downed aircraft.  
Ruling out the possibility that the drone was deliberately downed, the IDF said a technical malfunction caused the crash, adding that it was further investigating the incident.
The Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star quoted security sources as saying the drone fell in a farm in the Saradah Valley and that it apparently crashed due to a technical malfunction. The Lebanese Army closed off the site of the crash.
This is not the first time a downed Israeli drone has made headlines. Last month, Iran released footage of a spy drone it claimed to have shot down as it headed for a nuclear site.
An unmanned plane was also reported to have crashed in Iraq in late August. The Arab-language Al-Mayadeen television network said at the time that the Hermes Model drone was shot down near Baghdad Airport.