A powerful American drone crashed in Syria

Images revealed the wreckage

A United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed in Syria according to reports that referenced images and videos of the drone published on social media.

It crashed in friendly U.S. territory

The military news website Militarnyi reported that the American drone was discovered in a region of Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

America’s ally in Syria

The Syrian Democratic Front controls a wide swath of territory in northern Syria and has been backed by the U.S. since 2014 according to the Council on Foreign Relations

U.S. troops are still helping

Washington has had a successful partnership with the Syrian Democratic Front and there are still roughly 900 American troops in SDF-controlled territory.

The Reaper wasn’t shot down

Militarnyi reported that the crashed MQ-2 Reaper drone showed no signs of being shot down according to social media observers and likely suffered a technical malfunction.

Photo Credit: X @BabakTaghvaee1

No insignia is visible

“The footage clearly shows the aircraft’s tail section, which is identical to the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper, although no insignia is visible,” Militarnyi reported, which means that the drone likely can’t conclusively be identified as a U.S. asset.

Photo Credit: X @BabakTaghvaee1

A drone known for its long-range

The MQ-9 Reaper is a reconnaissance drone known for its long-range that was made to launch high-precision strikes against important targets according to Militarnyi.

It was likely flying a recon mission

The military news website concluded that the Reaper drone was probably conducting a reconnaissance flight somewhere over Syria now held by other Syrian rebel factions.

U.S. airstrike on ISIS in Syria

U.S. Central Command revealed on December 8th that it has been conducting airstrikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) camps and operatives inside Syria since Bashar al-Assad fled the country.

Working to defeat ISIS

“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS,” a press release reported.

Preventing its reconstitution

The goal of the U.S. airstrikes has been to prevent the remnant forces of ISIS still active in Syria from reconstituting its strength in central Syria amid the conflict in the country.

Several U.S. Air Force Assets were used

U.S. Central Command attacked 75 targets using several different U.S. Air Force assets, which included B-52 Stratofortress, F-15 Eagle fighters, and the vaunted A-10 Warthog.

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.