Iraqi state television Monday aired footage of a pilot-less "enemy" reconnaissance plane which Baghdad said it had "forced down" in the north of the country on Sunday.
The footage, aired for two minutes, showed a plane about three meters long with a red propeller on its tail and wings in V-form.
The plane, whose body was painted in white, was shown lying in an undetermined location.
It was equipped with a camera and electronic sensors, however the footage did not show any inscriptions or writings identifying the country, which used the drone or any sign that it had been hit by anti-aircraft fire or surface-to-air missiles, AFP reported.
"The drone was forced down in our territory by our own means," at 0930 GMT Sunday in northern Iraq, a military spokesman earlier said.
Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery managed to "take control of the drone and force it to land" after it had "violated Iraqi airspace to undertake a spying mission," the spokesman said, without providing further explanation.
"Our anti-aircraft fighters thus confirm their ability to confront the spying missions of the enemy, which uses sophisticated techniques to obtain information that helps warplanes in attacks" on Iraq, he said.
Baghdad reported that it shot down three unmanned US spy planes in August, September and October 2001, confirming official fears in Washington that Baghdad had upgraded its previously-ineffectual air defense systems. The United States admitted the losses. (Albawaba.com)
