Nigerian Air Force on Wednesday night lost a helicopter in combat while providing close air support to troops of 145 Battalion at Damasak in Northern Borno State.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, who confirmed this in a terse statement said the mission was part of the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North East.
He said the incident, occurred about 7:45 pm today, 2 January 2019, saying “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.”
Prompt News Online recalls that on Tuesday, January 1, 2019, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE destroyed a building being used as meeting venue by Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters near Baga in Northern Borno State.
The attack was as a result of series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that confirmed that the building was being used as an assembly point by the terrorists.
Consequently, the ATF dispatched a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the building.
“A direct hit was recorded on the target leading to significant damage to the structure and neutralization of the occupants,” Air Commodore Daramola said.
