Story highlights "The inert training missile has been returned with the cooperation of the Cuban government," said Mark Toner, the deputy State Department spokesperson

The inactive Hellfire missile had been in Cuba since 2014, sources familiar with the matter said last month

Washington (CNN) The Cuban government has returned a missing U.S. missile sent to Europe for training but inadvertently shipped to Cuba, a State Department official said.

"We can say, without speaking to specifics, that the inert training missile has been returned with the cooperation of the Cuban government," Mark Toner, the State Department's deputy spokesperson, told CNN on Saturday. "The department is restricted under federal law and regulations from commenting on specific defense trade licensing cases and compliance matters, so we cannot provide further details."

"The reestablishment of diplomatic relations and the re-opening of our embassy in Havana allow us to engage with the Cuban government on issues of mutual interest," he added.

The inactive Hellfire missile had been in Cuba since 2014, sources familiar with the matter said last month

Hellfires are air-to-ground missiles typically fired from helicopters. Although initially designed as anti-tank weapons, they are often modernized and currently deployed from drones in anti-terrorism operations.

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