Five members of the Nigerian air force were killed when a helicopter crashed as Boko Haram militants ambushed a military base in northeastern Nigeria, a spokesman said Thursday. Air force spokesman Ibikunle Daramola said the five crew members had died when the helicopter "crashed in combat" on January 2 while providing close air support to troops fighting off a Boko Haram attack in Damasak, a town near the border with Niger.

The victims included two pilots, two gunners and a flight technician, he said. The attack was one of four raids on military posts this week in a region which has been ravaged by jihadist violence, which in recent months has particularly targeted troops in the northeastern states of Borno and Yobe.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019