An armed US Predator drone crashed in Turkey on Wednesday after apparently suffering some kind of mechanical failure, military officials said.
Captain Lauren Ott of the US Air Force's Europe command said the drone went down in an unpopulated area of southern Turkey at around 1:40 am local time.
"The aircraft was armed, but US military and Turkish officials were able to gain positive control over the ordnance and the crash site," she said.
"The initial assessment is that the aircraft experienced mechanical failure, but a more in depth investigation will be conducted to determine the exact cause."