A helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force [NAF] has crashed while attacking the fortresses of Boko Haram at Damasak in Northern Borno State.
The helicopter was initially declared missing while providing air support to troops of 145 Battalion.
It was later confirmed crashed in a statement by NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola.
The full statement by the NAF spokesman reads:
“A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Helicopter was lost in combat while providing close air support to troops of 145 Battalion at Damasak in Northern Borno State.
“The mission was part of the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the North East. The incident, occurred about 7:45 pm today, 2 January 2019.
“Details of the cause of the crash are still scanty. As soon as the details of the crash are known, they will be made available to the public.”
Meanwhile, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE successfully destroyed a building used as a meeting venue for Islamic State of West Africa Province [ISWAP], according to Air Commodore Ibikunle.
The NAF spokesman said that the attack was carried out after “series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions confirmed that the building was being used as an assembly point by the terrorists”.
Consequently, NAF dispatched an Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the building.
The hit reportedly resulted to significant damage to the structure and neutralization of the occupants as at the time of attack.
