BEIRUT, Lebanon 

Lebanese group Hezbollah said Friday that it had flown a drone over Israel on a reconnaissance mission.

In a statement cited by the group’s Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah said the drone flew for 40 minutes over northern Israel and returned safely to Lebanon “despite attempts to shoot it down.”

Earlier Friday, the Israeli army said it had failed to intercept a drone that breached the country’s airspace from Lebanon.

"It is clear from the preliminary investigation that earlier today, a small wireless drone was spotted inside Lebanon, flying towards Israeli territory," army spokesman Avichay Adraee tweeted.

"After violating Israeli sovereignty and following it up through monitoring systems, helicopters and warplanes were summoned, in addition to launching an interceptor missile from the Iron Dome without being able to intercept it," he said.

Adraee added that "after a few minutes, the small drone returned to Lebanon."

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara