Officials to warn Congress on risks of drones and seek power to destroy suspicious aircraft

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday urged Congress to approve legislation giving the federal government new powers to disable or destroy threatening drones, according to testimony viewed by Reuters. David Glawe, DHS's undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, and the department's deputy general counsel Hayley Chang, will tell the Senate committee that oversees the department that it needs new authority. 'Terrorist groups overseas use drones to conduct attacks on the battlefield and continue to plot to use them in terrorist attacks elsewhere,' the officials' testimony said. Officials said the number of drone flights over sensitive areas or suspicious activities has jumped from eight incidents in 2013 to an estimated 1,752 incidents in 2016, citing federal statistics. 'This is a very serious, looming threat that we are currently unprepared to confront.