Israel: Iran drone intercepted in Feb was on attack mission

JERUSALEM – Israel's military says an unmanned Iranian aircraft shot down in February after infiltrating its airspace was armed with explosives and on a mission to attack Israel.

It said Friday that following an "operational and intelligence-based investigation" the military concludes that the "Iranian aircraft was armed with explosives and was tasked to attack Israeli territory."

It said it prevented an attack on Israeli territory in February when it intercepted the aircraft.

The statement comes after Iran, a strong ally of Syria, this week threatened to respond to an airstrike on a Syrian military base that the Syrian government, Russia and Iran blamed on Israel.

Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah earlier said that Israel had made a "historic mistake" with the strike.