WASHINGTON, Oct 10: The US military lost another unmanned Predator surveillance aircraft on a mission over southern Iraq on Wednesday, the third such crash since Aug 27, the miliary’s Central Command headquarters said.

The announcement from command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, said the 3.2 million dollars air force RQ-1B drone disappeared and there was no indication whether it had malfunctioned or been shot down by Iraqi air defenses.

A senior Western defense source earlier said in Kuwait that the Predator, one of several being used to monitor a “no-fly” zone over southern Iraq, was missing.

Iraq state television also said it had shot down a spyplane in the south at 0842 GMT.

Iraq also said previously that it had first downed one of the aircraft in August and again on Sept 11 — the day hijacked passenger planes slammed into landmarks in New York and Washington.

The U.S. Defense Department confirmed that the two drones were missing, but said it could not confirm whether the crashes were because of malfunctions or ground fire.

Pentagon officials have voiced concern about a dwindling number of Predators, which are also being used to monitor the situation in Afghanistan. —Reuters