Suspecter members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect on Tuesday expanded the frontiers of their operations by shooting down a military helicopter.
The insurgents are believed to have shot down a Nigerien helicopter carrying unidentified passengers in Bama local government area of Borno state.
This development has introduced a new and more dangerous dimension to the war against insurgency in the northeast. If confirmed, this would be the first time the terrorists have downed a winged aircraft since they started war against the Nigerian State despite overwhelming evidence that they possessed such capability.
Daily Trust reports that the incident occurred near Banki town at about 10 am and five persons reportedly perished in the crash.
An emergency source in Banki who visited the scene along the military said that the insurgents were likely responsible for the crash adding that the helicopter belonged to the Nigerian government.
The military was yet to confirm the incident at the time of filing this report.
