Jihadist and tribal forces in Mali claim to have shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter near the city of Gao. No independent verification or official Russian confirmation has been reported.
Jihadist and tribal forces in northern Mali claimed to have shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter near Gao early Monday morning. The claim, reported by an unspecified source, has not been independently verified and there has been no official comment from Russian forces operating in the region. The incident follows a pattern of escalating attacks in the Sahel region against Russian expeditionary units. As The Zioneer previously reported, al-Qaeda-aligned rebels claimed to have downed a Russian Wagner helicopter in an attack on bases in early July. The lack of corroborating imagery or official acknowledgment keeps the report at a developing confidence level.
3 developments
- DevelopingReports suggest Russian forces lose contact with Ka-52 attack helicopter
- DevelopingUkrainian drone strikes Russian Mi-28 helicopter in Belgorod, report says
- DevelopingMali military claims control after jihadist attacks on villages
- StrongUkrainian forces reportedly shoot down Russian Su-35 in Zaporizhzhia
Source and signal
- Open-source intake