Army helicopter downed in fighting near Libyan oil field

A military helicopter that was part of the eastern Libya army force commanded by strongman Khalifa Hifter was shot down on Friday and contact has been lost with the crew members, an army spokesperson said.
Faisal Ahbale told The Associated Press that the helicopter was struck in central Libya, where the air forces waged at least nine airstrikes throughout the day targeting militias known as Benghazi Defense Brigades.
The militias are a mixture of Islamic militants and former rebels who were recently defeated by Hifter’s forces in Benghazi, Libya’ second largest city.
Two months ago, suspected militias struck a military helicopter in Benghazi, but its crew members survived.
Ahbale said that it’s not clear yet what kind of weapon was used to down the helicopter.
In a statement carried by al-Nabaa TV network, the militias said that it shot down a helicopter and described the attack as “significant” but declined to give more details on the site of the helicopter.
It also said that one of the crew members were killed while the other is still missing.