Latest downed objects could well be ‘benign’, US says

Four objects have been shot down this month (Anna Griffin/Missourian via AP)

The three still-unidentified aerial objects shot down by the US in the past week likely had merely a “benign purpose”, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, drawing a distinction between them and the massive Chinese balloon that earlier traversed the US with a suspected goal of surveillance.

“The intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.