The RPA was on a combat mission when operators lost control of the aircraft. It was not hit by enemy fire, the Air Force said in a statement.

The remains of the crashed RPA were apparently targeted by airstrikes, as the Air Force said the Reaper "was destroyed by coalition aircraft and is not in enemy hands."

There were no reports of civilian injuries or damage to civilian property because of the crash, the service said.

An official investigation will attempt to determine the cause of the crash.

This is while the US and some of its regional allies, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been implicated in support for the Takfiri groups there.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced as a result of the crisis in the war-ravaged Muslim country, ABNA reported.

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