A Nigerian military combat drone has crashed in the Kontagora forest area of Niger State, sparking fresh concerns over aerial military operations in the North-Central region.

SaharaReporters gathered that the unmanned aerial vehicle went down on Friday, though the exact cause of the crash remains unclear as of the time of reporting.

A photograph obtained by SaharaReporters shows the drone severely damaged and lying in the forest, but notably, it did not explode upon impact.

Details surrounding the operation are still sketchy, as it could not be independently confirmed where the drone was launched from or what mission it was carrying out at the time of the incident.

As of press time, the Nigerian military has not issued an official statement regarding the crash. The Niger State Government has also remained silent on the development.

The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of aerial military activities across northern Nigeria. SaharaReporters had earlier reported that suspected herdsmen in Jabo community, Sokoto State, were seen handling what they claimed were fragments of a bomb allegedly dropped by the United States military on Christmas Day.

In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, the men—speaking in Hausa—were seen sitting around the metallic object, laughing and mocking the U.S. military while dismissing the effectiveness of American weapons.

The footage showed the individuals casually playing with the fragment, with one urging others to “show their strength” while praying that the object would not explode.

“They said no U.S. bomb or missile can successfully land on Nigerian soil,” one voice was heard saying, as the group mocked both foreign and local military forces.

The men further claimed that Nigeria was immune to foreign military power, boasting that no weapon could defeat them except by divine will.