ISIS propaganda video shows U.S. soldiers under attack in Niger

By DAVID MARTIN
CBS NEWS
March 4, 2018

A framegrab of the propaganda video released by ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a propaganda video Sunday to show how supposedly invincible they are. The Pentagon has yet to release a full account of the ambush, and we do not know if the enemy somehow doctored the video, but the video shows in a way no words can express just how outgunned and cut off the Americans were. They were returning from what was supposed to have been a low-risk patrol made up of 11 American and 30 Nigerian soldiers when the ambush hit. At first, they tried to take cover behind their SUV. With one of the soldiers at the wheel, they ran alongside, attempting to escape the kill zone. They fired colored smoke grenades, which would provide some cover, and identify their position to any friendly aircraft overhead. But it would be two hours from the start of the ambush before French aircraft arrived on the scene. These soldiers were on their own. One of them went down. Another rushed to his side and then dragged him back to the cover of the SUV.

Their position at the SUV was about to be overrun, so they did the only thing they could -- ran to a location that might provide better cover. Except for the smoke from the grenades and a few scrub trees there was no cover and no escape. The soldier wearing the helmet camera went down. soon the camera stopped moving and some of the enemy fighters come into view. Then a final blast fills the frame from what apparently was a round fired at point blank range. You would expect the enemy not to take prisoners but you would not expect American soldiers to be so exposed without any backup. The Pentagon's investigation into how that happened is expected to be released this week.

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Skeptic Bob said:

That is terrible. I won’t be watching the video, though.

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Luftwaffe said:

I don't feel the need to view ISIS's barbarism.

No different than their execution videos, I don't feel the need to view them.

They love to propogandize, but they know their once "great" nation has been reduced to, if I remember correctly, some pitiful ass amount of land between syria and Iraq.

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ReverendHellh0und said:

“There were young knights among them who had never been present at a stricken field. Some could not look upon it and some could not speak and they held themselves apart from the others who were cutting down the prisoners at My Lord’s orders, for the prisoners were a body too numerous to be guarded by those of us who were left. Then Jean de Rye, an aged knight of Burgundy who had been sore wounded in the battle, rode up to the group of young knights and said: ‘Are ye maidens with your downcast eyes? Look well upon it. See all of it. Close your eyes to nothing. For a battle is fought to be won. And it is this that happens if you lose.”
– Froissart’s Chronicles, 14th century


perhaps if civilians were more required to see the brutality of war, we'd be less inclined to support such adventurism.

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Luftwaffe said:

I've seen plenty of actual war footage before, what is the point of this post?

And I come from a deeply rooted military family with a brother in the forces and another brother who is a veteran, you don't think I think about these things whenever America is considering to take a fight or not?

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ReverendHellh0und said:

The point is exactly what I stated, civillians should see all of it. make it as real for them as possible. I wasn't trying to say anything about you personally.

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ReverendHellh0und said:

The point is exactly what I stated, civillians should see all of it. make it as real for them as possible. I wasn't trying to say anything about you personally.

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Saladin4 said:

You might be right.....The US Military regular releases video of Air Strikes in Iraq and recently in Syria...Some quite brutal.....These ISIS thugs appear to be taking a page from that playbook....I wonder what the US Military was even doing there?.....Seems more like an area for France to be involved

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ReverendHellh0und said:

“There were young knights among them who had never been present at a stricken field. Some could not look upon it and some could not speak and they held themselves apart from the others who were cutting down the prisoners at My Lord’s orders, for the prisoners were a body too numerous to be guarded by those of us who were left. Then Jean de Rye, an aged knight of Burgundy who had been sore wounded in the battle, rode up to the group of young knights and said: ‘Are ye maidens with your downcast eyes? Look well upon it. See all of it. Close your eyes to nothing. For a battle is fought to be won. And it is this that happens if you lose.”
– Froissart’s Chronicles, 14th century



perhaps if civilians were more required to see the brutality of war, we'd be less inclined to support such adventurism.

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Skeptic Bob said:

That may very well be the case. But I have only been a civilian for the past few years and one of the perks of being a civilian is not having to expose myself to stuff like that anymore.

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