NATO said today it lost radar contact with a drone helicopter conducting a reconnaissance flight over Libya, denying a Libyan television report that one of its attack helicopters was shot down.
The alliance's command centre in Naples, Italy, lost track of the unmanned autonomous helicopter drone at 0720 GMT in the central coast area of Libya, said NATO military spokesman Mike Bracken.
It is the first time that NATO has lost any aircraft since taking command of operations on March 31, Bracken told a news conference via videolink from Naples.
A US F-15 crashed in Libya on March 21, when the mission was conducted by a coalition led by the United States, France and Britain.
"This drone helicopter was performing intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance over Libya to monitor pro-Gaddafi forces threatening the civilian population," Bracken said.
The military alliance was looking into the reason behind the incident.
"NATO confirms it has not lost any attack helicopters during Operation Unified Protector and will provide more information on the incident as it becomes available," Bracken added.
Libyan state television showed footage of a burnt-out helicopter it identified as an Apache, reportedly downed near Zliten, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital.
The caption on the television, which quoted military sources, read: "Images of the Apache helicopter shot down by the people's army."
It was not immediately possible to verify if the helicopter was an Apache.
Zliten is 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of the rebel-held port city of Misrata.
NATO has been using combat helicopters over Libya in an attempt to break the stalemate in the conflict.
The drone is about the size of a small passenger helicopter and it is equipped with high-tech reconnaissance equipment such as cameras and sensors to identify enemy forces, a NATO official said.
The alliance relies heavily on drones and surveillance aircraft to identify and strike targets since it operates under a UN mandate that prevents the presence of ground troops in Libya.