«Israeli» Surveillance Drone Crashes in S Lebanon

Local Editor

In yet another trespassing on Lebanese sovereignty, an "Israeli" surveillance drone of the SkyLark type crashed Monday in the southern Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab, Lebanon's National News Agency said.

Both Lebanese and "Israeli" media reported the incident.

According to NNA, The drone crashed near the UN-demarcated Blue Line on the Lebanese border, NNA said.

"Israeli" forces went on alert along the border in the wake of the incident as "Israeli" warplanes overflew the region, the agency added.

"Israeli" media first ignored the incident. However it then reported it, dismissing "Israeli" technical failure, with the Jerusalem Post saying: "according to the [‘Israeli'] army no sensitive information was compromised and the circumstances behind the crash were being investigated."

On the other hand, Hezbollah Military Media Center said the drone was subjected to a sudden technical failure causing its crash in the outskirts of Aita Shaab.

The Military Media Center said Lebanese residents seized the crashed drone, taking it to unknown destination.

The Skylark unmanned aerial vehicle has several weak points, according to Hezbollah's Military Media Center. Due to its light weight, the drone is highly-affected by the wind. It also cannot fly for a long time and for high altitudes, making it easy to target it.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese authorities had confiscated the drone for further inspection.

The "Israeli" army confirmed that a small Israeli military drone crashed in southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon.

"The incident is being investigated," the Times of "Israel" news portal quoted a military spokesperson as saying.

"There did not appear to be a risk that classified information could be retrieved from the device," the "Israeli" army said.

According to the Times of "Israel", it was the fourth time this year that an Israeli SkyLark drone crashed. Earlier this month, a senior "Israeli" army official told The Times of "Israel" that the incidents were not the result of a shared problem, but were caused by a mix of human and technical errors.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team