MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — A Nigerian Air Force helicopter crashed in combat, killing five crew members, as fighting raged against militants for control of the strategic town of Baga in the northeast, the military said Thursday.
The crash occurred Wednesday at Damasak in northern Borno state, according to a tweet by air force spokesman Ibikunle Daramola. Officials did not say what caused the crash.
The military has been fighting to regain control of Baga, which the militants seized last week. The town is a key base for a multinational force fighting the militants. Many residents have fled to the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
The fighting for Baga has been intense, the chief of army training and operations, Maj. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, told reporters. “It’s a ding-dong situation but we are engaging them,” he said last week. “We are not in total control but Boko Haram have not taken control of Baga, either.”
