Drones have previously been used by extremists in southwest Asia to gather information, but this is the first time a weaponized drone was successful for them.
The independent news outlet Morning Ledger reports
The drone was seen and intercepted October 2 by Kurdish fighters in Northern Iraq. Kurdish fighters shot down the drone to prevent further spying from their enemies. They were also instructed by American commanders to shoot any small aircraft since there has been evidence of the ISIS trying to weaponize their drones.
They decided to take the drone apart back at their outpost[1] and as soon as they did, it exploded[paywall]. The explosion killed two Kurdish fighters, severely wounded two French soldiers, and lightly wounded the other French men on the scene.
[...] Prior to the drone attack that killed Kurdish fighters, ISIS had two unsuccessful tests in weaponizing their drones. The first two were witnessed by the Kurds and Americans, which led to the Americans' fire-at-will command for small aircraft.
"The explosive device inside was disguised as a battery--there was a very small amount of explosives in it, but it was enough to go off and kill them", said an American senior official.
[1] Reports conflict on this point.
Reuters reports
The drone blew up when Peshmerga fighters tried to lift it after it crashed to the ground, Jabbar al-Yawar, secretary general of the autonomous Kurdish region's defense ministry, told Reuters. "It seems it was booby-trapped."
The French newspaper Le Monde reported on [October 11] that the drone had been intercepted in flight on Oct. 2 and exploded near the Kurdish and French soldiers when it hit the ground. It was unclear, Le Monde said, whether the drone was remotely detonated or carried a timed bomb.
[...] French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll confirmed the injuries.
"Yes. They were injured by a drone that landed and then exploded", he told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 15 2016, @11:48AM
Exploding batteries. Who would have guessed it was intentional, this time.
(Score: 2) by SpockLogic on Saturday October 15 2016, @01:19PM
Was the drone made by Samsung?
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 15 2016, @09:38PM
The fact that the ordnance was small enough to fit in a toy drone yet powerful enough to take out more than 4 guys reminds me of the origin of the term clusterfuck. [google.com]
Did you know that there's also a military origin to the superstition about 3 on a match. [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday October 17 2016, @04:05AM
Drones being used to kill people? The shame! The outrage! How can ISIS be left to get away with this, when no other civilised country would ever do something like this?