Featured Image Credit: Weaponized Podcast/Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell/George Knapp
A possible UFO sighting in Iraq is being investigated by the US military, according to podcasters who have obtained an image reportedly captured by US intelligence a few years ago.
The image was captured in April 2016 by a US intelligence reconnaissance plane, and shows a strange orb flying over an unnamed city in Iraq.
After being obtained by journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp, it was shared on their Weaponized podcast, where they described it was ‘photographic evidence’ of a UFO.
Corbell said: “It is a military-filmed image, an intelligence agency-filmed image, and it’s called the Mosul orb.”
According to the podcasters, the picture itself is not classified, but the footage that it was taken from was part of a classified briefing produced by the Pentagon’s now-defunct Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF).
The unit was in charge of investigating UFO incidents before it was replaced by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in July last year.
Filmmaker and ufologist Corbell continued: “This is a reconnaissance plane in Northern Iraq, and this is from a four-second video, where this metallic sphere moves alongside the craft without any descent, any falling, in any way.
“And this is one of the pieces of video and photographic evidence that is within the intelligence community, saying, ‘This is a UFO. We caught one, what can we determine from it?’
“And there’s just so much of this stuff. You’ll never see this in the public realm other than here.”
The Department of Defense did not return a request for comment from the New York Post about the authenticity of the image. UNILAD has also reached out for comment.
In a tweet, Corbell added: “The MOSUL ORB is important military filmed UFO evidence – from a conflict zone – public for analysis. And it’s just the tip of the spear.”
A document recently released by the Pentagon indicates the US government is struggling to explain more than 150 UFO reports.
The report explained that unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) reporting is ‘increasing’, and added that AARO and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) believe the rise is ‘partially due to a better understanding of the possible threats that UAP may represent, either as safety of flight hazards or as potential adversary collection platforms’.
Another reason for the increase is said to be ‘due to reduced stigma surrounding UAP reporting’.
“This increased reporting allows more opportunities to apply rigorous analysis and resolve events,” the report stated.