Iraq said it shot down an unmanned Iranian reconnaissance aircraft, or drone, in Iraqi air space today.
"At 4.21 p.m. [12.21 Irish time] a pilotless Iranian plane violated Iraq's airspace coming from the Iranian space in the Mandili area and our air defences in the area successfully shot it down," an Iraqi air defences spokesman was quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency as saying.
Iraq said yesterday that Iran had fired 56 Scud missiles at camps inside Iraq belonging to the Iranian rebel People's Mujahideen Organisation.
Tehran regularly criticises the Iraqi government for failing to prevent Mujahideen activity. Iraq in turn accuses Iran of providing refuge for Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim dissidents.