U.S. military uses laser to shoot down 3 cartel drones at southern border, Pentagon says

The U.S. military this week used a laser to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border that were allegedly operated by drug cartels, the Pentagon said Thursday. The three unmanned aircraft systems were shot down late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning using an "Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system," according to U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for overseeing certain military defense operations in North America. The drones were downed by the U.S. military's southern border Joint Task Force, a unit of USNORTHCOM, which did not specify exactly where the drones were shot down, or which cartels they were believed to belong to. No details on the operation were provided.Asked if the drones were shot down over U.S. or Mexican airspace, a USNORTHCOM spokesperson told CBS News that "the shots were taken in coordination with all partners operating along the border.