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An unidentified drone crashed in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar late on July 27 — the second such incident within hours.
The wreckage was found near a residential compound at the Haditha Dam. Footage from the scene shows only a two-bladed rotor. While it is hard to identify the drone from that piece alone, the rotor — with red stripes on the tips of its blades — looks identical to that of the Israeli-made Heron 1 drone.
The Heron 1 is a medium-sized drone with an endurance of 52 hours and a service ceiling of 10 kilometers. It was designed by Israel’s IAI for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance missions. The drone, which costs around $10 millions, is also reportedly capable of being armed.
The presence of such a drone over Iraq would not be surprising, as Israel has been using the country’s airspace as a main route to attack Iran.
Click to see full-size image.
Notably, the incident came just a few hours after an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone belonging to the United States military crashed in the central Iraqi province of Babylon, with evidence suggesting it was shot down.
The suspected Heron 1 was also likely shot down; the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of several Iran-backed armed factions, is believed to be behind both aerial losses.
The IRI is known to possess some advanced air-defense systems and has shot down multiple drones in the past. If confirmed, however, this would be the first time it downed an Israeli one.
Separately, earlier in the day Saudi Arabia blamed Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq for a drone attack on one of its largest oil-processing facilities — despite the Houthis having claimed responsibility. The IRI has since denied any involvement and warned the kingdom against retaliating.
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