Taliban Say They Shot Down US Spy Drone in Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Taliban militants claim to have shot down a US spy drone in eastern Afghanistan.
Zabihollah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said on Saturday that the unmanned aircraft was downed while conducting a surveillance mission in Rodat district of Nangarhar province.
Afghan and American officials have not yet commented on the incident.
The United States regularly uses drones for assassination strikes and spying missions in Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border.
Washington claims the targets of the drone attacks are militants, but facts on the ground show that civilians have been the main victims of such raids over the past few years, Press TV reported.
The United Nations and several human rights organizations have identified the US as the world’s number-one user of targeted killings, largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.