Terrorists say they shot down Nigeria Air Force’s surveillance helicopter that crashed in Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State on Monday.
The terrorists made the claim in a two-minute-seventeen-second video shared on Tuesday.
The Nigeria Air Force had said its MI-171 helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday near Chukuba village in Niger State and that investigation had commenced to determine the probable cause of the accident.
It was learnt that the aircraft was transporting injured troops wounded in a battle against terrorists to a military hospital in Kaduna State.
According to the video which looked fresh and authentic the terrorists said they shot down the military helicopter with an AK47 weapon.
The narrator in the video, who spoke Hausa, said the terrorists responsible for the take down belonged to Dogo Gide group, one of the notorious bandits that had terrorised parts of Niger State, causing deaths of many farmers and security operatives.
It was gathered that there had been ongoing counter terrorism efforts in the axis which had led to the death of 53 terrorists.
It was also learnt that a day before the crash, the Nigerian soldiers had been ambushed and about 20 of them had been killed along the Zungeru-Tegina Road.