Afghan sources have begun to report that an unmanned aircraft crashed in Zabul province, stating that its origin is unknown. However, this drone is an Iranian Mohajer-6 UAV, which is normally operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces (IRGC). The drone does not appear to have been armed, so it was likely operating in an intelligence and reconnaissance role. Zabul province is located in eastern Afghanistan and is a long way from the Iranian border, but it’s well within the drone’s operational range.
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So far, the Taliban has not released any statement about the purported incident. A cause for the crash also remains unclear.
Since the takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban and Iran have largely shared positive relations, despite isolated clashes at the border. The drone could have been monitoring Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) activity in the country, which has worsened an already degraded security situation for the region.
