Iranian drone ‘on mission’ to attack Israel before being shot down

An Iranian drone shot down after infiltrating Israeli airspace was armed with explosives and on a mission to attack the country, Israel’s military has said.

A spokesman said that following an “operational and intelligence-based investigation” the military concludes that the unmanned “Iranian aircraft was armed with explosives and was tasked to attack Israeli territory”.

He said the military prevented an attack on Israeli territory in February when it intercepted the aircraft.

The statement comes after Iran, a strong ally of Syria, this week threatened to respond to an airstrike on a Syrian military base that the Syrian government, Russia and Iran blamed on Israel.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah earlier said that Israel had made a “historic mistake” with the strike.