Article Posted on : - Jan 03, 2013

The ScanEagle drone. A Boeing photo

TEHRAN (AP): An Iranian navy commander claims the country's security forces had captured two small US drones in past missions in addition to at least four others reported earlier.

Admiral Amir Rastgari says the two drones were of the small, low-altitude RQ-11 type, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. He said one was captured in the summer of 2011 and the other in November 2012.

Rastgari claimed that most of the data from the unmanned aircraft was recovered.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said last month that it had captured a ScanEagle American drone after it entered into Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.

At the same time, Iran claimed it had taken possession of two other simple, small ScanEagles.

In 2011, Iran claimed it brought down a more sophisticated CIA spy drone after it entered Iranian airspace from Afghanistan.