An Elbit Systems-produced unmanned aerial vehicle, the Skylark 1, being tested by the Israeli military in 2017. Photo: IDF.

JNS.org – An Israeli drone crashed in Syrian territory Tuesday evening, as troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad prepared an assault on the rebel-held Quneitra and Daraa.

The cause of the Skylark tactical surveillance drone’s fall was not clear, though Syrian sources near Quneitra claim the UAV was shot down.

The Skylark, Israel’s smallest drone model, is prone to crashing, having come down at least seven times since January 2017 and being shot down once in Syria. Some of the crashes led Israel to perform emergency rescue operations to recover the machines, which contained sensitive information, before it fell into enemy hands.

The IDF stated there is no danger of Syrian forces acquiring such material in this case.