US military drone crash lands in Seychelles after possible engine failure
The RQ-1 Predator drone lands at Balad Air Base in Iraq after a sortie on Sept. 15, 2004.
A US military drone crash landed on the island nation of Seychelles, two weeks after an unmanned aerial vehicle went down in Iran, US officials said.
The US has been using drones from Seychelles to target Somali militants linked to Al Qaeda, according to the Associated Press. The location also served as a base for anti-piracy operations.
More from GlobalPost: The Drone Wars
Although the two drone losses happened closely together, the circumstances vary.
The MQ-9 Reaper that crashed at the Seychelles airport was operated by the Air Force and is not in enemy territory, unlike the CIA operated RQ-170, which the Iranian government is now in possession of.
More from GlobalPost: Iran says US spy drone will provide Tehran with US military technology
The US Air Force is investigating the cause of the first ever Reaper drone crash in the Seychelles, according to the Washington Post.
The drone is suspected of having experienced mechanical failure before it crashed. “It has been confirmed that this drone was unarmed and its failure was due to mechanical reasons,” according to a statement from the Seychelles civil aviation authority.