Green Berets' Killed in Niger

[waltky]

What are we doin' on the ground in Niger?...




Elite US troops killed and wounded during surprise attack in Niger
October 5,`17 - Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger in northwestern Africa on Wednesday after their joint patrol with Nigerien forces was ambushed.


One “partner nation member” also died, and two other Americans were wounded, according to U.S. Africa Command, which released new details about the incident early Thursday. The wounded were evacuated to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where they were in stable condition, officials said. The Pentagon has not disclosed the troops’ names or service affiliation, pending notification of their families. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed for The Washington Post that those involved were assigned to an elite Special Forces unit. The incident occurred near the border with Mali. The deaths were first confirmed Wednesday by the New York Times.

U.S. Africa Command, which is based in Stuttgart, Germany, has provided no details about the mission, except to say it was for counterterrorism purposes. It’s unclear, though, why this unit would come into contact with enemy forces while performing what’s typically considered a training and advisory role. The deaths mark the first known hostile-fire casualties in Niger. A 3rd Special Forces Group soldier was killed in a vehicle accident there in February. Local media reported that the joint patrol was lured into an ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo in the Tillaberi region. The attackers were described as coming from neighboring Mali, where al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch has been battling both the government and a French-led coalition seeking to root them out of their desert hideouts.


https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/10/Screen-Shot-2017-10-04-at-7.27.28-PM-1024x691.png&w=1484
A U.S. Army Special Forces weapons sergeant observes Nigerien soldiers during marksmanship training in Diffa, Niger

The United States has expanded its operations in Niger in recent years, including surveillance drone flights piloted from Niamey, the capital. The United States is also finishing construction on an installation at Agadez, a central city in the Sahara, that will move flights closer to southern Libya and northern Mali. Closer proximity will allow longer flights, giving drone operators more time to monitor remote desert stretches where militants are known to traverse. The 3rd Special Forces Group and other forces are tasked with training missions in Niger to combat extremist groups in the region, including security assistance with intelligence and reconnaissance efforts. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operates in Mali, further straining security on the border region.

Nasser Weddady, a regional security analyst, told The Post it was unusual for U.S. troops to operate far into the western parts of the country. However, the Drive website reported that the Pentagon contracted fuel deliveries for Ouallam, a city about halfway between the capital and the Mali border. Weapons flooded into the remote Sahara desert region after the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya in 2011, arming Tuareg separatists and Islamist militants who took refuge there. An al-Qaeda-linked group briefly took over most of northern Mali in 2012 before it was defeated by a French military intervention. Remnants of the group still carry out attacks and kidnap Westerners. Niger also faces spillover from the radical Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, which has expanded into attacking neighboring countries.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/10/04/u-s-troops-take-hostile-fire-in-niger/

[Cletus]

What are we doin' on the ground in Niger?...

We have been sending MTTs into the region for decades. We had a team ambushed in Mali back in the 90s. No fatalities in that one though.

[Peter1469]

Currently, SOF troops are in 80 nations.

[Ethereal]

What are we doin' on the ground in Niger?...

The same thing "we" do in most countries with a US military presence: Make the place safe for international capitalists to come in and dominate the landscape.

[waltky]

Another U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Fourth U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger
October 6, 2017 | WASHINGTON — After an extensive search, a U.S. soldier who had been missing for nearly two days in Niger has been found dead, a result of a deadly ambush by dozens of Islamic extremists on a joint patrol of American and Niger forces, U.S. officials said Friday. The soldier, whose name has not been released, was one of four U.S. troops and four Niger forces killed in the attack.


His body was found by Niger forces on Friday near where the ambush occurred, and then transferred into U.S. custody at a safer location further from the attack site. U.S. officials said his body was moved onto an American helicopter by U.S. forces in a somber ceremony and then taken away for formal identification. Eight Niger soldiers and two U.S. troops were wounded in the attack, but they were evacuated from the area on Wednesday after the attack unfolded. U.S. officials described a chaotic assault, as 40-50 extremists in vehicles and on motorcycles fired rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns at the patrol, setting off explosions and shattering windows. The soldiers got out of their trucks, returning fire and calling in support from French helicopters and fighter jets that quickly responded to the scene, according to officials. The officials weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials say they believe extremists linked to the Islamic State group were responsible for the attack about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Niger’s capital, Niamey. The U.S. and Niger forces were leaving a meeting with tribal leaders when they were ambushed. Most of the U.S. troops were Army special forces. According to a statement by Niger’s army chief of staff, the joint patrol was attacked by “terrorist elements” in a dozen vehicles and about 20 motorcycles. The statement said the deaths and injuries came “after intense fighting, during which elements of the joint force showed exemplary courage.”


https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/newshour/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RTS1FFVI-1024x683.jpg
A C-130 U.S. Air Force plane lands as Nigerien soldiers stand in formation during the Flintlock military exercise in Diffa, Niger

U.S. special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger’s forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, the Pentagon said. Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad are putting together a 5,000-strong G5 Sahel force to fight the growing threat from extremists in the vast Sahel region. The first units are expected to deploy in October and all battalions should be on the ground by March 2018.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in June welcoming the deployment, but at U.S. insistence it did not include any possibility of U.N. financing for the force. That force will operate in the region along with a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has become the deadliest in the world for U.N. peacekeepers, and France’s 5,000-strong Barkhane military operation, its largest overseas mission.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/fourth-u-s-soldier-found-dead-attack-niger/

[Superbadbrutha]

Another U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Fourth U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger
October 6, 2017 | WASHINGTON — After an extensive search, a U.S. soldier who had been missing for nearly two days in Niger has been found dead, a result of a deadly ambush by dozens of Islamic extremists on a joint patrol of American and Niger forces, U.S. officials said Friday. The soldier, whose name has not been released, was one of four U.S. troops and four Niger forces killed in the attack.

What has the POTUS tweeted on this?

[waltky]

Gonna take till January to investigate Niger snafu...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/rolleye0011.gif
Pentagon Probe of Niger Deaths Won't Be Done Before January
9 Nov 2017 | WASHINGTON — The Pentagon told family members of the four U.S. soldiers killed in Niger that its investigation won't be finished until January.


In a statement Wednesday, the Pentagon said Army officials contacted the families this week to give them an idea of when to expect answers to the many questions that have arisen since the soldiers were killed in an ambush Oct. 4.


http://images03.military.com/media/news/people/nigerien-soldiers-1800-ts600.jpg
Nigerien soldiers receive a counter IED class as part of Exercise Flintlock 2017 in Diffa, Niger

They were told the investigation is expected to be finished in January but could go longer. An Army investigation team will travel to numerous locations in the U.S., Africa and Europe to gather information. The team is led by Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, the chief of staff at U.S. Africa Command.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/11/09/pentagon-probe-niger-deaths-wont-be-done-january.html

[donttread]

What are we doin' on the ground in Niger?...




Elite US troops killed and wounded during surprise attack in Niger
October 5,`17 - Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger in northwestern Africa on Wednesday after their joint patrol with Nigerien forces was ambushed.

Great point with no good answer. Who really killed this man? The shooter or the corrupt people who put him in harms way without good cause?

[waltky]

More remains of Sgt. Johnson found in Niger...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Investigators find additional remains of Sgt. Johnson in Niger
Nov. 21, 2017 -- Military investigators found the additional remains of Sgt. La David Johnson at the site where he was killed in Niger last month, the Pentagon said Tuesday.


Department of Defense spokeswoman Dana White issued a statement saying a joint U.S. Africa Command investigation team found the human remains Nov. 12. "Today, we can confirm that the Armed Forces Medical Examiner has positively identified these remains as those of Sgt. Johnson," she said.


https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi_com/2421511294050/2017/1/c5b054b3e14829ea7a04fee0c4c2f28a/Investigators-find-additional-remains-of-Sgt-Johnson-in-Niger.jpg
Military medical examiners said additional remains found a mile away from an ambush site in Niger belonged to Sgt. La David Johnson.

Johnson and three other members of the U.S. Army Special Forces died Oct. 4 when a joint patrol with the Nigerien military near Niger's border with Mali came under attack. Two others were injured. Johnson initially went missing after the attack, but Nigerien troops found his body two days later nearly a mile away from the ambush site.

The Department of Defense identified the other three soldiers killed as Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. The soldiers were assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Fort Bragg, N.C. White said the Department of Defense "continues to conduct a detailed and thorough investigation" in the attack.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/11/21/Investigators-find-additional-remains-of-Sgt-Johnson-in-Niger/2421511294050/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=3

See also:

Investigators Find More Remains of US Soldier Killed in Niger
21 Nov 2017 | U.S. military investigators found more remains of the Army soldier killed in Niger, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.


A team with U.S. Africa Command on Nov. 12 discovered additional human remains at the site where Sgt. La David T. Johnson's body was recovered in the Western African country, according to a statement from Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner on Tuesday positively identified them as those of Johnson, White said. Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was killed with three other members of the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger. The others were Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia. "We extend our deepest condolences to all of the families of the fallen," White said.

Two more American troops were wounded and five Nigerien troops were also killed in the incident, which occurred near the village of Tongo Tongo in the northwestern part of the country. The four U.S. service members killed in action were part of a 12-man team from the Army 3rd Special Forces Group that joined a patrol with 30 Nigerien troops. During the firefight, Sgt. La David Johnson became separated from the rest of the group. His body was not recovered until two days after the initial attack. It wasn't immediately clear why some of Johnson's remains were left in the country.

[center]http://images03.military.com/media/people/ladavidjohnson111117-ts600.jpg
U.S. Army Sergeant La David Johnson, who was among four special forces soldiers killed in Niger.[/enter]

Johnson's pregnant widow, Myeshia Johnson, who was angered by what she said was President Donald Trump mispronouncing her husband's name during a condolence call, said she was prevented from seeing her husband's body. "I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband," she told ABC News last month. "They won't show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband's body from head to toe, and they won't let me see anything."

Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, a career infantry officer, Iraq veteran and the chief of staff to Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, is leading an Article 15-6 fact-finding investigation into the firefight in western Niger near the Mali border. Under their rules of engagement, the 12 U.S. soldiers on the patrol "were authorized to accompany Nigerien forces when the prospects for enemy contact was unlikely," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford has said. Some news outlets, citing defense officials, have reported that the patrol diverted from its reconnaissance mission to pursue an extremist leader thought to be in the area and that Johnson may have been captured and executed.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/11/21/investigators-find-more-remains-us-soldier-killed-niger.html

[waltky]

Died in a hail of gunfire, hit as many as 18 times...
:shocked:
U.S. soldier fought to the end after Niger ambush, report says
Dec 18, 2017 | WASHINGTON — Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson died in a hail of gunfire, hit as many as 18 times as he took cover in thick brush, fighting to the end after fleeing militants who had just killed three comrades in an October ambush in Niger, The Associated Press has learned.


A military investigation has concluded that Johnson wasn’t captured alive or killed at close range, dispelling a swirl of rumors about how he died. The report has determined that Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was killed by enemy rifle and machine gun fire from members of an Islamic State offshoot, according to U.S. officials familiar with the findings. The Oct. 4 ambush took place about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niamey, the African nation’s capital. Johnson’s body was recovered two days later. U.S. officials familiar with the findings spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to describe details of an investigation that has not been finalized or publicly released.

A 12-member Army special forces unit was accompanying 30 Nigerien forces when they were attacked in a densely wooded area by as many as 50 militants traveling by vehicle and carrying small arms and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Johnson was struck as many as 18 times from a distance by a volley of machine gun rounds, according to the U.S. officials, who said he was firing back as he and two Nigerien soldiers tried to escape. All told, four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien troops were killed in the ambush. Two U.S. and eight Nigerien troops were wounded.


https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2017/10/RTX3HNPQ-1024x645.jpg
An honor guard carries the coffin of U.S. Army Sergeant La David Johnson, who was among four special forces soldiers killed in Niger, at a graveside service in Hollywood, Florida


The bodies of three U.S. soldiers were located on the day of the attack, but not Johnson’s remains. The gap in time led to questions about whether Johnson was killed in the assault and not found, or if he was taken away by the enemy. According to the officials, a medical examination concluded that Johnson was hit by fire from M-4 rifles — probably stolen by the insurgents — and Soviet-made heavy machine guns. It is believed he died in the attack. The officials said Johnson was found under thick scrub brush where he tried to take cover. There were no indications he was shot at close range, or had been bound or taken prisoner, as several media reports have suggested.

On Monday, members of Johnson’s family said they still have many questions about the events. Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told CNN that she first learned of the latest investigation results on Facebook. She also says the military hasn’t told her why her son’s remains weren’t found at the same time as the bodies of his comrades. “I want the truth … but there’s no closure,” she said.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-soldier-fought-to-the-end-after-niger-ambush-report-says

See also:

Sister of Sgt. La David Johnson says military hasn't answered questions about his death in Niger: "They haven't explained it to us. We find out everything via social media."
December 18, 2017 - The U.S. Africa Command began its investigation with a team headed by Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, the command’s chief of staff. The team visited locations in Niger to collect evidence and information about the attack, and will soon submit a draft of Cloutier’s report to Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of Africa Command. Waldhauser could ask for additional information. The final report is expected to be released next month.


The officials familiar with the report’s conclusions said that during the attack, Johnson and two Nigerien soldiers tried to get to a vehicle to escape, but were unable to do so, became separated from the others and were shot as they were running for safety. The report concluded that Johnson, who was athletic and a runner, was in the lead and got the farthest away, seeking cover in the brush. Officials said there were a number of enemy shells around Johnson, and evidence that he appeared to fight to the end. His boots and other equipment were later stolen, but he was still wearing his uniform. As news of the ambush came out, the U.S. military sent in rescue teams to search for Johnson, not making his status public in the hope he might have gotten away and was still alive and hiding. The Pentagon only acknowledged that he was missing after his body was located two days later by local forces.

The Pentagon has declined to release details about the exact mission of the commando team. U.S. officials have previously said that the joint U.S.-Niger patrol had been asked to assist a second American commando team hunting for a senior Islamic State member, who also had former ties to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The team had been asked to go to a location where the insurgent had last been seen, and collect intelligence. After completing that mission, the troops stopped in a village for a short time to get food and water, then left. The U.S. military believes someone in the village may have tipped off attackers to the presence of U.S. commandoes and Nigerien forces in the area, setting in motion the ambush. U.S. special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger’s forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, the Pentagon said.

The three other Americans killed were Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia. Black and Wright were Army Special Forces. Johnson and Johnson were not commandos. Johnson’s combat death led to a political squabble between President Donald Trump and a Democratic congresswoman from Florida after Trump told Johnson’s pregnant widow in a phone call that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., was riding with Johnson’s family to meet the body and heard the call on speakerphone. The spat grew to include Trump’s chief of staff, who called Wilson an “empty barrel” making noise.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-soldier-fought-to-the-end-after-niger-ambush-report-says