Pentagon says Iran shot down drone, insists it was not over airspace

The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that Iranian forces shot down a US naval surveillance drone but insisted the aircraft was in international air space, not that of Iran.

The BAMS-D drone was downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, a US Central Command spokesman, Navy Captain Bill Urban, said in a statement.

He said it happened at 2335 GMT Wednesday.

"Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false," he added. "This was an unprovoked attack on a US surveillance asset in international airspace.