Washington, October 22 (RHC)-- Two Predator drones belonging to the U.S. military have recently crashed in separate incidents in the Middle East, a Pentagon official says. U.S. military spokesman, Colonel Steve Warren, said on Wednesday that the first incident occurred in Iraq on October 16.

A Predator crew reported a "lost link and subsequent crash while the Predator was flying southeast of Baghdad," the U.S. military official admitted. The drone was found in the vicinity of the eastern city of Kut by local Iraqi police who returned the aircraft to U.S. control. No one sustained injuries in the crash.

In the second case on October 19, another Predator went down in the southern part of Turkey over “mechanical failure,” Warren said, adding: “The aircraft experienced mechanical failure. The Air Force in this case maintained positive control of the aircraft and brought it down safely in an unpopulated area.”

The Pentagon says that investigations have been launched into the two incidents.

Predator drones can carry deadly munitions, but it is still unclear if the two unmanned aerial vehicles were armed when the crashes took place.