Africa Corps Mi-35 Attack Helicopter Shot Down in Gao Region — Crew and Mobile Fire Group Killed

On April 28, 2026, an Africa Corps Mi-35 attack helicopter was shot down in Mali's Gao Region. The entire crew and the helicopter's accompanying mobile fire group were killed in the incident, per multiple corroborating sources including the Wikipedia summary of the 2026 Mali attacks and several African conflict monitors. The Mi-35 (NATO designation: Hind E) is a twin-engine attack helicopter with crew-transport capability, used extensively by Africa Corps in Mali for fire support, reconnaissance, and rapid-reaction missions. This represents the first confirmed loss of an Africa Corps helicopter in the Sahel conflict theater. The shoot-down was not officially acknowledged by Russia or Africa Corps. The loss compounds the reputational damage from the simultaneous Kidal withdrawal: not only did Africa Corps fail to hold the junta's flagship territorial achievement, it also suffered an unprecedented airframe loss in the same 48-hour period. JNIM had previously employed anti-aircraft weapons in the theater; the precise weapon system responsible for the shoot-down has not been confirmed. The incident drew comparisons to ISGS's successful anti-aircraft operations against Malian Mi-24 helicopters in the Ménaka Region in 2021.