L-Ne · Historical Source Library

News Source Record

# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 23 April 2011 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | Global |
| Language | English |
| Terms matched | unmanned Predator drone; Drones; Predators; drone attack |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Outlet | BBC News |
| Title | Libya: US confirms first Predator strike |
| Dateline | — |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13176645 |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2011-04-23|bbc-news|first-predator-strike-misrata-mrl |
| Source grade | A1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — A1]** BBC reported the US military confirming the first strike by an unmanned Predator drone in Libya. Nato said the drone destroyed a Libyan government multiple rocket launcher near Misrata at approximately 1100 GMT; "The MRL system had been used against civilians in Misrata." Predators had previously been used in Libya only for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The piece recalled Thursday's Gates/Cartwright briefing (Obama "unique capabilities"; Gaddafi forces "nestling up against crowded areas"). Peter Biles in Benghazi said the first drone attack could mark a new phase of Nato's air campaign. Separate of the Predator, two missiles apparently from Nato aircraft struck a bunker near Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound; Moussa Ibrahim said three died in a water-storage facility, while journalists taken to the site saw ammunition crates.

**Kinematic object.** Unmanned Predator, first Libya strike, government MRL near Misrata, ~1100 GMT.

**Coverage frame.** military / incident

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original: BBC first confirmation write-up of the Misrata MRL strike with Nato statement time and target.
- Wire reprint status: Not a wire reprint.
- What was excluded: the 21–22 April approval/abort stories and the 24 April ABC Australia wrap.

## LRRK relevance

Watch / Campaign. A Watch desk would have logged the first confirmed armed-Predator shot of the Libya war against an MRL near Misrata.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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