Nigerian Army’s “Alpha jet” disappears in a battle against “Boko Haram group”

One of the Nigerian Army’s “Alpha jet” disappeared two days ago during ‘a routine operation’ in Adamawa state, where they  are fighting the “Boko Haram group.” as the military has said. 

A search and rescue operation was under way for the Alpha jet which was on a routine operational mission on Friday over Adamawa state when contact was lost with the aircraft, the Nigerian armed forces said in a statement.

The aircraft, with two pilots on board, left its base in Yola, Adamawa, at about 0945GMT on Friday and had been expected back by midday the same day.

The Boko Haram Group has almost seized territory in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in recent weeks, raising fears about a loss of government control in the far northeast and putting the military under pressure to put an end to the five-year-long armed movement.

Nigeria’s military, backed by war planes, has been fighting to push back recent advances by Boko Haram into the north of Adamawa state and also towards Maiduguri, the state capital of neighbouring Borno state. The army said it beat back an attack outside the city of Maiduguri on Friday.