US drone lost over Libya, military says

An unmanned drone that was flying over Libya was lost on Thursday, according to the U.S. military. 

“An unarmed U.S. Africa Command remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) was lost over Tripoli, Libya, Nov. 21,” the Africa Command said in a statement on Friday. It noted that the incident was under investigation, but did not provide additional details. 

The Africa Command uses RPAs in Libya to monitor violent extremism and assess security there, according to the statement. 

“These operations are critical to counter terror activity in Libya and are fully coordinated with appropriate government officials,” it said. 

Libya has faced violence since Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011. 

The U.S. conducted three airstrikes on ISIS fighters in the country over an eight-day period in September. The Africa Command said in a statement at the time that 17 alleged militants were killed and believes no civilians were killed or hurt.