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WASHINGTON — A U.S. F-22 fighter shot down a third unmanned aircraft in a week on Saturday, this time over northern Canada, according to a U.S. official.
The downing came as U.S. troops sought to recover a car-size object shot down Friday over Alaska. The three objects, including the Chinese spy balloon that drifted across sensitive military sites in the continental United States, has heightened tensions between the Americans and Chinese.
It’s not clear who operated the objects shot down Friday and Saturday, according to the U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced the news on Twitter Saturday. Trudeau said in a tweet he had spoken to U.S. President Joe Biden.
“I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,” Trudeau said. North American Aerospace Defense Command then “shot down the object over the Yukon.”
Trudeau said that both Canadian and U.S. jets were deployed, but the U.S. jet hit the target.
MORE:Chinese spy balloon sought secret US communications signals, State Department says
VIDEO:What intelligence could the Chinese spy balloon gather as it flew over US weapons sites?
The Pentagon operates several sensitive military facilities in Alaska, including sophisticated radar systems and interceptors to track and take down ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, troops from U.S. Northern Command’s Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard sought to recover wreckage near Deadhorse, Alaska from the object shot down Friday by an F-22. Wind, snow and limited daylight have hindered efforts, according to a statement from the military.
Off the coast of South Carolina, dive crews have begun to retrieve objects from the ocean floor after the Chinese balloon was shot down there Feb. 4. The FBI is examining that debris.
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Contributing: Rebecca Morin, Joey Garrison, Josh Meyer