Drone shot down over Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Defence systems at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. forces, shot down a drone near the base on Sunday, with Iraqi military sources and the U.S.-led international military coalition offering confliciting accounts of the incident.

The U.S.-led international military coalition said in a statement that it had conducted “an operational exercise..that involved engaging an Unmanned Aerial System” at Ain al-Asad base as part of a training exercise.

However, the Iraqi military sources suggested the drone may have had hostile intent, saying it was not clear whether it was on a surveillance mission or if it was carrying any explosives.

No damages or casualties were reported, the sources added.

The mission of the international military coalition is to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and in Syria.

(Reporting by Ahmed RasheedEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Frank Jack Daniel)