How We Lost Three Officers, 22 Soldiers, 4 Pilots in Niger Ambush, Jet Crash – DHQ

How We Lost Three Officers, 22 Soldiers, 4 Pilots in Niger Ambush, Jet Crash – DHQ

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says three officers, 22 soldiers, 2 pilots and 2 crew members  were killed during ambush by bandits and helicopter crash that occurred in Wushishi and Shiroro LGA of Niger state.

The Director of Defence Media Operations Edward Buba, disclosed this during a biweekly briefing at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

He said the attack happened on August 14, when troops on operations responded to a distress call were ambushed by bandits in Wushishi LGA, crashed in Chukuba village, Shiroro LGA.

The operations also witness Nigeria Air Force fighter jet crashes while conveying wounded soldiers from a scene.

During the attack, several military personnel were killed by terrorists, abducting residents and rustling cattle at Kundu village near Zungeru.

At the briefing, Buba did not give the cause of the crash but said investigation was ongoing to determine the factors that led to the accident.

“Our troops entered into an ambush in the general area of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger state.

“The ambush led to a firefight which resulted in the death of three officers and 14 soldiers, while seven were wounded in action.

“As a result of this, there was need for casualty evacuation whereby the air force helicopter was dispatched for evacuation of the wounded personnels inbound to Kaduna, the helicopter crashed.

“It crashed with 14 bodies of the. personnel previously killed in action, seven of the previously wounded in action personnel, two pilots of the helicopter and two crew members”, he said.