Trudeau: US fighter shot down object over northern Canada

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that on his order a U.S. fighter jet has shot down an “unidentified object” flying high over northern Canada.

The shootdown came a day after U.S. planes took similar action over Alaska. Shortly before Trudeau’s announcement Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it had detected an object flying at high altitude over Canada.

It did not say when the object was first spotted or what it is. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration says it closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities and that the airspace was later reopened.

The object was the third known to have violated North American airspace in the past two weeks.