A Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet aircraft on a non-combatant mission crashed in Niger Republic killing two pilots aboard. A Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet aircraft crashed on Monday in Dargol village west of Niger. The Jet aircraft was on a non-combatant mission. It was one of the four Alpha Jet aircraft being used in the ongoing African support force in Mali. 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.