IRAN’S shooting down of a US drone took place in international airspace and was an “unprovoked attack”, the American military has said.
A statement from Central Command (Centcom) said the unmanned aircraft – a RQ-4A Global Hawk maritime surveillance drone – was “shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz” early on Thursday.
The statement added that “Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false” and that “this was an unprovoked attack on a US surveillance asset in international airspace”.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it shot the drone down on Thursday morning when it entered Iranian airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has tweeted that “Iran made a very big mistake” in downing a US drone.
The US military previously alleged that Iran had fired a missile at another drone last week that was responding to the attack on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman.
The attacks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions following Trump’s decision to withdraw from Tehran’s nuclear deal a year ago.
AT least 20 people have been killed after a bus fell into a deep gorge on a mountainous road in northern India, police have said.
The incident occurred on Thursday near Kullu, a town in Himachal Pradesh state, according to police officer Shalini Agnihotri.
She said the rescue operation was continuing.
The cause of the incident was not known.
Around 150,000 people die every year on India’s roads, often because of reckless driving, badly maintained roads and overcrowded vehicles.
RESIDENTS on an Arctic Norwegian island with 69 days of constant light in the summer say they want to go “time-free” and be more flexible with school and working hours to make the most of the long days.
Resident Kjell Ove Hveding said people on the island of Sommaroey, north of the Arctic Circle, should get rid of traditional business opening hours and “conventional time-keeping”.
That is because the sun does not set from May 18 to July 26. He said on Wednesday he met with a Norwegian politician on June 13 to hand over a petition signed by dozens of islanders for a “time-free zone” and discuss its practical and legal challenges. Sitting west of Tromsoe, the island has a population of 350 and fishery and tourism are the main industries.
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