WASHINGTON — A U.S. Air Force unmanned reconnaissance aircraft failed to return from a mission over southern Iraq and apparently was shot down by Iraqi air defenses, a U.S. official said Monday.
"All of our manned aircraft are accounted for," said Army Maj. Timothy Blair, a Pentagon spokesman. He would not confirm the loss, but two defense officials said a Predator unmanned aircraft was missing and believed lost on a mission near the heavily defended city of Basra.
One U.S. official said operators of the Predator lost the communications signal from the aircraft and were not sure why.
The first word came from Baghdad. "Iraqi air defenses have shot an American reconnaissance plane coming from Kuwaiti territory," the official Iraqi News Agency quoted an unidentified military spokesman as saying.
The plane, according to the news agency, contained "high-tech equipment" and was shot down near Basra, 340 miles south of Baghdad.
The Iraqi news agency did not further specify the type of plane nor say anything about any pilots aboard. There were no pictures on Iraqi television.
Also on Monday, U.S. planes attacked a SA-3 surface-to-air missile site in northern Iraq, a U.S. official said. The attack was in response to an Iraqi provocation, which the official did not describe.
The United States has lost Predator reconnaissance planes to hostile fire before, mainly in the Balkans but rarely if ever over Iraq.
Iraq has been stepping up its efforts to shoot down the U.S. and British aircraft that patrol "no-fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq. It has come closer in recent weeks, prompting occasional retaliatory U.S. and British attacks on air defense radars and communications sites.
In July, Iraq fired a missile at a U.S. Air Force U-2 surveillance plane flying at high altitudes over Iraq. The spy plane was not hit but the missile exploded close enough to be felt by the crew.
Several days earlier the crew of a Navy E2-C radar plane flying over Kuwait reported seeing the plume of an Iraqi surface-to-air missile fired in its direction.
Over the last three years, Iraq has occasionally claimed it had hit a U.S. or British plane, but Monday's is the first confirmed downing.
RQ-1 Predator provides eyes in the sky
Details on the RQ-1 Predator, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft apparently shot down Monday by Iraqi air defense forces:
—Medium-altitude planes used for surveillance and reconnaissance.
—Designed for areas of moderate risk, such as in chemical contaminated areas.
—Used during day and night; radar allows ground operators to see through smoke, clouds and haze.
—Camera equipment provides radar images and full motion video.
—Designed for rapid deployment; Can be disassembled into six main parts.
—Flies up to 140 mph.
—27 feet long; 48.7-foot wingspan.
—$25 million system is made up of four planes commanded by a ground control station and a satellite link for communication.
—Operated by 11th and 15th reconnaissance squadrons at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field in Nevada.