Rescue helicopter crashes, Nigerian security forces hit 26 deaths helicopter | injured | security forces
Nigerian military personnel said on the 14th that Nigerian security forces were ambushed in the central northern Niger state on the evening of the 13th, resulting in at least 26 deaths and 8 injuries. Another helicopter carrying wounded personnel crashed on the morning of the 14th, and the lives of the passengers on board are unknown.
A military officer who declined to be named told Agence France Presse that the ambush occurred along the road connecting the towns of Zonggailu and Taijina, with intense fighting between the two sides. "We lost 23 soldiers, including 3 officers, as well as 3 militiamen, and 8 soldiers were injured.".
Another source said that the "bandits" who attacked the security forces also suffered heavy losses. He said that a helicopter sent by the Air Force to evacuate the wounded was lost after being attacked by ground fire from "bandits", with 11 bodies of the deceased and 7 wounded on board.
A spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force issued a statement confirming that a Mi-171 helicopter crashed during a casualty transport mission. The spokesperson said that a search and rescue operation is underway, and the Air Force has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Illegal armed groups are rampant in the northern and central regions of Nigeria, mostly based in remote areas, often looting homes, stealing livestock, kidnapping hostages for ransom, causing a large number of casualties and property damage.
At the same time, armed groups such as the West African Province of ISIS, a branch of ISIS that has transformed from the extremist organization Boko Haram, are occupying northern Nigeria and frequently launching violent terrorist attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries.