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A potent, but crash-prone, weapon in the counterterrorism war

As Predator drone missions have escalated from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, so have the number of accidents. Since January 2011, five Predators have crashed while trying to return to the base.

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May 17, 2011 

This Predator MQ-1B crashed while trying to return to Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. military base in Djibouti, on May 17, 2011. It landed in a vacant lot near a residential area of Djibouti city, about 2.7 miles short of the runway. These photographs, taken by Air Force investigators, were released as part of an unclassified Accident Investigation Board report into the crash.

U.S. Air Force /

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