Mystery remains on hit drone over Israel

JERUSALEM

Reuters photo

An unarmed and unidentified drone shot down by the Israeli air force on Oct. 6 remains a mystery. Israeli media has said it came from Iran to penetrate the Dimona nuclear reactor, whereas a former Lebanese general has said it belonged to an American aircraft carrier.

“An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace [from the Mediterranean Sea], and was intercepted by the Israeli Air Forces,” an Israeli military spokesman said on Oct. 6, Agence France-Presse reported.

Army radio said the aircraft had not been carrying explosives. The controversy over its origin remains unresolved as Israel investigates.

Israeli jets break sound barrier

The army dispelled the notion that the drone might have been launched from the Gaza Strip, and was looking into the possibility that Lebanese Hezbollah militants might have dispatched it, a military official told Israeli public radio. Hezbollah is known to have sent drones into Israel on several previous occasions, The Associated Press reported. In the meantime, Israeli warplanes yesterday staged mock raids over villages in southern Lebanon, breaking the sound barrier. The Lebanese national news agency said the planes flew low over the market town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages yesterday.

“It is even possible that Iranians activated its launch and guidance system, and it is apparently of Iranian manufacture,” Israeli Ynet news agency said. “The launching of such a craft over such a distance requires advanced means that Hezbollah has not possessed up to now.” A former Lebanese general however predicted that the drone belonged to a U.S. aircraft. “The Palestinians don’t have such a sophisticated aircraft. It may have come from Egypt, however, since it flew in from the sea, I believe it came from an American aircraft carrier and was accidently downed,” said former Lebanese Gen. Hisham Jaber.