Iran downs US drone, threatens reprisal

Iran threatened to retaliate for the violation, Iranian media reported.The Al-Alam Arabic language satellite channel, quoting a military source in Irans joint chiefs of staff, said late Sunday the RQ-170 unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down a few hours ago.The Fars news agency, which has close ties to the Revolutionary Guards responsible for Irans air defence and ballistic missile systems, said the drone had made an incursion into Irans eastern airspace.Our air defence and electronic warfare units managed to identify and shoot down an advanced unmanned spy aircraft -- an RQ-170 -- after it briefly violated the eastern border territory, Fars said, quoting an unnamed military source.The drone was downed with slight damage. It is now under the control of our forces, the source added.The source warned that Irans armed response would not be limited to our countrys borders for the blatant territorial violation.The RQ-170 Sentinel is a high-altitude reconnaissance drone whose existence was revealed in 2009 by specialised reviews and later confirmed by the US Air Force in 2010.In January, Iran announced that its forces had downed two US drones after they violated Iranian-controlled airspace.