Israel Matzav

Report: Israeli-made Hermes drone shot down over Baghdad

For the third time in a week, there is a report that an Israeli-made drone has been shot down. This time, the report comes out of Lebanon, the drone is a Hermes and the claim is that it was shot down over Baghdad.

According to a report on the Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel, considered a mouthpiece for the Hezbollah terror group, an Israeli drone exploded in mid-air over Baghdad. The report claims that the drone was another Hermes-class craft, the same type of drone that Iran claims fell over its airspace earlier this week.

The report said that Iraqi army officials had gathered up what was left of the drone, but were not commenting on the incident at this time. A reporter on the ground in Baghdad said that staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad rushed to the scene of the crash in order to assess the situation.

On Monday, Iran claimed to have downed an Israeli drone as well. “A spy drone of the Zionist regime (Israel) was brought down by a missile... This stealth drone was trying to approach the Natanz nuclear zone," the corps said in a statement on its official website sepahnews.com. “This act demonstrates a new adventurism by the Zionist regime... The Revolutionary Guard and the other armed forces reserve the right to respond to this act," the statement added.

Iranian officials said that the drone was an Israeli-made "Hermes" drone with a maximum flight range of 1,600 km (994 miles) and a 800-km (500 mile) combat radius. The UAV's wings have a 5.5 meter (about 18 feet) wingspan, he added, and two high-quality cameras were mounted on each end to capture precise images. The Al Mayadeen report said that the drone that fell over Baghdad was of the same type.

The drone that was shot down over Natanz is widely believed to belong to Azerbaijan. Hamas also claimed to have shot down an Israeli drone last week, but has yet to provide any evidence. The government and the IDF have had no comment about any of the drones supposedly shot down.

JPost adds:

According to the Arab-language Al-Mayadin television network, the Hermes Model drone was shot down near Baghdad Airport.

The Iranian news agency Fars reported that American embassy personnel rushed to the site of the crashed drone to collect debris and remains.

Err.... Not sure I consider a Hezbullah television network or Fars to be reliable sources.

Labels: Baghdad, drone, Gaza, Hamas, Hermes 450, Hezbullah, Hezbullah lies, Iran, Iranian lies, Iraq, Natanz

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:30 AM