REUTERS
A Nigerian fighter jet taking part in
military operations against al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants in Mali crashed
in western Niger, killing its two crew, Niger and Nigerian officials said on
Monday.
The incident marked the first
casualties in Mali for Nigerian troops, which form the largest contingent in a
West African regional force participating in the French-led campaign to drive
Islamist rebels from the country's desert north, reports Reuters.
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, spokesman
for the Nigerian Air Force, said the plane was an Alpha jet stationed in Niger
as part of a Nigerian squadron supporting the mission in Mali.
"An investigation is going on to
find out what happened. They were on a normal routine flight about 60 km (37
miles) west of Niamey when something happened," Anas told Reuters.
Asked if there was any evidence of
anti-aircraft fire, he said: "We don't know but it was inside Nigerien
territory."
A Niger security source said the jet
crashed near Dargol in the Tillabery region which borders Mali.
"The plane was not shot at. It
was not in enemy territory so for now we are looking at maybe a mechanical
problem," another security official from Niger, who asked not to be
identified, said.
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