Unmanned US drone aircraft crashes in Pakistan

An unmanned US drone aircraft crashed today during a routine surveillance mission over a remote village in southwestern Pakistan.

There were no injuries on the ground, police said. The crash happened near a military base used by US forces operating in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The Jacobabad police chief said the craft appeared to have been downed by technical problems rather than hostile fire.

The wreckage was recovered and handed to US experts. The exact class of the drone that crashed was not immediately clear, but unmanned Predator craft are often seen in the skies over Jacobabad.

US forces have been stationed at Jacobabad since September 2001, when Pakistan threw its support behind the US war in Afghanistan.

Residents have protested against the presence of US forces at the military base, which lies on the edge of Jacobabad, about 180 miles east of the Afghan border.

Pakistan says the forces stationed there are not combat troops, but rather logistical support troops for coalition forces in Afghanistan.