The American military on Monday confirmed the downing of a remotely piloted Iranian aircraft in Iraqi territory; the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was reportedly shot down 60 miles northeast of Baghdad and had been in Iraqi airspace for over one hour, according to a military spokesperson.

“It was in Iraqi airspace and tracked one hour and 10 minutes before it was engaged.”, according to Col. James Hutton, U.S. military spokesperson, and was engaged without any collateral damage. In response to claims that perhaps the drone had simply strayed over the border, as officials in Iraq have speculated, Hutton said that it was not possible, largely because of 70 minute duration.

The drone, identified by the U.S. as an Ababil 3 (meaning “Swallow”), has a 10.5 foot (3.25 meter) wingspan, and is launched from a truck catapult and recovered by parachute. The drone is piloted from the ground, and is equipped with a range of video transmission technologies.

The craft was shot down by coalition jet fighters approximately 3 miles away from Camp Ashraf, the location of known Iranian dissidents, the Peoples Mujahideen of Iran Organization. For a considerable length of time now, Iran has petitioned for the closure of the camp and the expulsion of its residents — a move which the U.S. has denied.

Given the latest Iranian developments in missile and nuclear technology, Western suspicions regarding the rapidly advancing Middle-Eastern nation are high, and this latest incident only furthers the unrest between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

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