Salon.com > Drone

Algeria attacks gas plant; casualties unclear

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:16:00 +0000

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A deadly Algerian military raid to free hostages from at least 10 countries and wipe out their Islamist militant captors moved closer to the heart of the natural gas complex on Friday, the government news service said.

A total of 18 militants were killed and the plant's living quarters were secured, according to the news agency, which cited security officials. Dozens of energy workers remained unaccounted for after the Algerian military's initial claim that the assault at the remote desert facility was over late Thursday.

Algeria's government has kept a tight grip on information, but it was clear that the militant assault that began Wednesday has killed at least six people from the factory — and perhaps many more.

Workers kidnapped by the militants came from around the world — Americans, Britons, French, Norwegians, Romanians, Malaysians, Japanese, Algerians. Leaders on Friday expressed strong concerns about how Algeria was handing the situation and its apparent reluctance to communicate.

British Prime Minister David Cameron went before the House of Commons on Friday to provide an update, seeming frustrated that Britain was not told about the military operation despite having "urged we be consulted."

Tehran says it has material evidence of U.S. drone capture

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:27:00 +0000

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran has material evidence to prove that it has captured an American unmanned aircraft, a prominent lawmaker in Tehran said Wednesday, rejecting U.S. Navy statements that none of its drones in the region was missing.

Tehran on Tuesday claimed to have captured a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf, and even showed an image of the purportedly downed aircraft on state TV. The Islamic Republic trumpeted its possession of an allegedly intact U.S. drone as another prize in its growing showdown with Washington over surveillance of Iran's disputed nuclear program.

"We have material evidence to prove that the drone we captured belongs to the U.S.," Ismael Kowsari, the head of the Iranian parliament's defense committee, told The Associated Press. "The unmanned aircraft took off from a warship. The Americans will have no choice but to confirm that one of their drones is missing."

Kowsari did not say what proof the Islamic Republic has to back up his claims, but said Tehran will release more information on the aircraft soon.

Iran claims to have captured US drone

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Another dispute has arisen between Iran an the U.S. over a drone. Last month Iran shot at, but missed, a U.S. unmanned aircraft, which Tehran claims was flying in Iranian airspace, while the U.S. insists that the drone was in international territory. On Tuesday, Tehran claimed via state media to have captured a U.S. drone flying over the country's airspace. And once again, the U.S. line is different: a spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces said no drone had gone missing in the region.

Although neither the American nor the Iranian side of the story can be verified, the A.P. reported that Al-Alam, Iran's state Arabic-language channel, showed two Revolutionary Guard commanders examining what appeared to be an intact Scan Eagle drone:

In the footage, the two men then point to a huge map of the Persian Gulf in the background, showing the drone's alleged path of entry into Iranian airspace.

"We shall trample on the U.S.," was printed over the map, next to the Guard's coat-of-arms.

If true, the seizure of the drone would be the third reported incident involving Iran and U.S. drones in the past two years.

White House seeks to establish rules for drone strikes

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:31:00 +0000

The Obama administration was working to codify rules for drone strikes in the weeks leading up to the election, the New York Times reported today. Though the CIA and military have carried out more than 2,500 killings with drones since President Obama took office, the administration has reportedly not finalized a legal framework dictating when it is justified in those attacks.

Initially the administration had wanted to establish rules to smooth the transition in the event of a Romney administration. "The matter may have lost some urgency after Nov. 6. ...[but] the administration is still pushing to make the rules formal and resolve internal uncertainty and disagreement about exactly when lethal action is justified."

From the Times: