At least 26 members of the Nigerian security forces were killed and eight injured in an ambush on Sunday evening by gunmen in central Nigeria where the army is fighting criminal groups, two military sources told AFP. A helicopter in charge of evacuating the wounded crashed Monday morning in the area where the ambush was set, added an air force spokesman in a press release, without specifying whether the crew and the passengers had survived.
Late on Sunday, a convoy of Nigerian troops and local militiamen helping them fight criminal gangs known as “bandits” was ambushed by heavily armed men in Niger State (separate from the Republic of Niger, the neighboring country of Nigeria). Northwest and central Nigeria have for years been plagued by violence from “bandits” who raid isolated villages where they kill and abduct residents for ransom, and burn houses after looting them.
The troops “were returning from an operation when they came across the terrorists along the Zungeru-Tegina highway”, a military official told AFP. A fierce fight ensued and “we lost 23 soldiers, including three officers, as well as three militiamen”, added this source, also specifying that “eight soldiers were injured”. A second military official confirmed the attack and gave the same toll. According to him, the attackers also suffered “heavy losses”, without giving a precise figure.
He added that an Air Force helicopter was dispatched on Monday “to evacuate the victims”, but “communication with it was lost”. According to him, this helicopter was carrying eleven of the people who died during the ambush and seven of the wounded. The two military officers asked not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak about the incident.
Later, a Nigerian Air Force spokesman confirmed that one of its MI-171 helicopter, which was carrying out a “casualty evacuation mission”, crashed on Monday after taking off from Zungeru. .
“The aircraft had left Zungeru Primary School heading for Kaduna, but was found to have crashed near the village of Chukuba,” Edward Gabkwet said in a statement. “Efforts are being made to rescue the crew and passengers on board the helicopter,” he added, adding that an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of the crash.
