- The DHQ said that thirty-six military officers were killed in the attack
- The breakdown was given at the biweekly briefing of the Defence Media Operations on Thursday
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has disclosed the number of casualties it suffered when its troops were ambushed by terrorists in Niger state.
Recall that soldiers, including senior military officers, were ambushed and gruesomely killed by terrorists on Monday in the zungeru area of the middle belt state. On the same day the terrorists shot down an helicopter on a mission to evacuate the remains of the slain soldiers, killing everyone on board.
Since the incidents happened, different casualty figures have been bandied about in the media.
Speaking on the incident, the DHQ put the number of military officers killed in the attack at thirty-six.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, made the disclosure on Thursday during the biweekly briefing of the Defence Media Operations.
Giving a breakdown of casualties in the attacks on the troops, he stated that onboard the crashed Air Force aircraft on evacuation mission were 14 previously killed soldiers, seven wounded soldiers, two pilots, and two crew members.
When asked about the cause of the helicopter crash, Buba restated that an investigation is still underway to determine the cause and urged citizens to ignore propaganda by terrorists and remain patriotic.
Also, a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday in the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Recall that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar on Tuesday revealed why the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) jet going to Niger State crashed.
The air chief attributed the crashes to seasonal challenges which are weather conditions, the development he said hampers the striking capabilities of its officers during operations
Discussion about this post