Forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) on Monday shot down an unmanned drone near near Benghazi via a man-portable surface-to-air missile system (MANPAD), according to LNA’s media office.

“The air defense media of the General Command targeted an unidentified filming drone that entered the skies of Benghazi near Al-Rajma and the Benina base and brought it down,” LNA said.

LNA, which has territorial control over eastern and southern Libya, confirmed that the drone entered Benghazi’s skies without authorization.

Subsequent footage released shows what appears to be the drone burning and slowly falling to the ground after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.

Joseph Dempsey, a military analyst for the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said the wreckages of the drone appear to be “consistent with MQ-9 Reaper UAV”. Current MQ-9 Reaper operators are France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States.

Unverified imagery of wreckage reported from crash in Benghazi, Libya 🇱🇾 appears consistent with MQ-9 Reaper UAV pic.twitter.com/zqnG5xWQbk

— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) August 22, 2022

The Libya Update is a Libyan website that provides political, security, economic, cultural, and sports news of Libya in English language. From its headquarters in Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, the Libya Update team publishes every day all the news that comes through a network of active sources in the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Tobruk, Zawiya, Sebha, and most of the country. It aims at a later stage to launch a version of its website in French, and Spanish.