Iranians claim to down US drone

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Iran's armed forces have shot down an unmanned US spy plane that violated its eastern borders, military sources say, reports BBC. Iranian media reports said the drone - identified as a type RQ170 - suffered minimal damage and was now in the hands of the armed forces. The Nato-led Isaf force in neighbouring Afghanistan says the US drone could be one that was lost over western Afghanistan last week. The US and its allies believe the programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying it is entirely peaceful. "The UAV unmanned aerial vehicle to which the Iranians are referring may be a US unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to determine its status," Isaf said in a statement.