Nigeria's top army commander killed in plane crash

Nigeria's top-ranking army commander Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru was killed on Friday when his plane crashed in the country's north, an air force spokesman said, France 24 reports.

Chief of Army Staff Attahiru was just appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in January in a shakeup of the top military command to better fight surging violence and a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency.

Attahiru was killed when the aircraft crashed in northern Kaduna state, air force spokesman Edward Gabkwet confirmed to AFP, without giving any details about the incident.