US missile blown up after flight anomaly

AN UNARMED Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was destroyed early yesterday, minutes after it blasted out of a California coastal underground silo on a flight to test its reliability, the US Air Force said, after "a flight anomaly" was detected.

The American military regularly launches unarmed ICBMs from its missile umbrella to test the weapon system's performance.