Turkey deploys surveillance drone to northern Cyprus amid gas drilling dispute

ANKARA – Turkey has dispatched a surveillance and reconnaissance drone to the breakaway north of ethnically divided island nation of Cyprus amid tensions over offshore oil and gas exploration, Turkey's state-run media said Monday. The Anadolu news agency said the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone took off from an airbase in Dalaman, Turkey, and touched down Monday at the airport in Gecitkala -- known as Lefkoniko in Greek, on Cyprus. Kudret Ozersay, foreign minister of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state, told reporters Sunday that the Turkish deployment would be limited to unarmed drones as there was "no need" for armed ones. Earlier, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said there was an "urgent need" to address the security concerns of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the eastern Mediterranean. It's unclear what the drones will be specifically tasked to do.