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US troops met with 'overwhelming force' in Niger ambush, official says [W:14]

Unverified - According to Nigerian troops who accompanied the Green Berets, they were tasked with capturing a terrorist leader and were all supposed to spend the night in territory where numerous extremist groups operate. A local village witness said four insurgents on two motorbikes first appeared and started shooting at the Berets near the village (Tongo Tongo) schoolhouse. When the Berets began retreating back towards the village and their vehicle, insurgents on 11 motorbikes attacked with AK's and RPG's. Other insurgents attacked in 10 technicals fitted with heavy caliber weapons. After the insurgents departed (roughly 2-3 hours later), villagers found two dead Berets within their vehicle and one dead Beret near it. All were stripped of clothing when found. Shell casings were everywhere. Villagers found blood on bushes, used smoke grenades, and empty boxes of ammunition. Two days later QRF forces found the body of Sgt. LaDavid Johnson about a mile away. This may have been a kidnap attempt or a cold blooded assassination. Johnson was also found naked and shot with his hands bound together by rope.
 
US forces in Niger sought armed drone before deadly ambush

U.S. military officials sought permission to send an armed drone near a patrol of Green Berets before a deadly ambush Oct. 4 in Niger, but the request was blocked, raising questions about whether those forces had adequate protection against the dangers of their mission. New information shows the Green Beret team was part of a larger mission, one potentially more dangerous than initially described, and one believed to merit an armed drone. But the request was blocked in a chain of approval that snakes through the Pentagon, State Department and the Nigerien government, according to officials briefed on the events.

The drone request suggests that military officials were aware of a change in the security landscape in western Niger, where more than two dozen previous patrols had been conducted without incident. Intelligence indicated a low risk of enemy contact, and there had been no enemy attacks on U.S. forces there for the past year, according to officials investigating the incident. The initial decision against the use of an armed drone reflects an effort by the U.S. mission in Niger to maintain a light footprint in the country amid local resistance to the deployment of armed aircraft—a challenge for officials also seeking to adequately support U.S. troops there.

Unlike previous US/Niger recon training, this mission was far more complex and dangerous. It seems someone, either in AFRICOM HQ (Stuttgart), Washington, or Niamey nixed the request for an armed drone.
 
Unverified - According to Nigerian troops who accompanied the Green Berets, they were tasked with capturing a terrorist leader and were all supposed to spend the night in territory where numerous extremist groups operate. A local village witness said four insurgents on two motorbikes first appeared and started shooting at the Berets near the village (Tongo Tongo) schoolhouse. When the Berets began retreating back towards the village and their vehicle, insurgents on 11 motorbikes attacked with AK's and RPG's. Other insurgents attacked in 10 technicals fitted with heavy caliber weapons. After the insurgents departed (roughly 2-3 hours later), villagers found two dead Berets within their vehicle and one dead Beret near it. All were stripped of clothing when found. Shell casings were everywhere. Villagers found blood on bushes, used smoke grenades, and empty boxes of ammunition. Two days later QRF forces found the body of Sgt. LaDavid Johnson about a mile away. This may have been a kidnap attempt or a cold blooded assassination. Johnson was also found naked and shot with his hands bound together by rope.

Only two of the American KIA's were Green Berets. Ladavid Johnson and Jeremiah Johnson weren't Green Berets.
 
Unverified - According to Nigerian troops who accompanied the Green Berets, they were tasked with capturing a terrorist leader and were all supposed to spend the night in territory where numerous extremist groups operate. A local village witness said four insurgents on two motorbikes first appeared and started shooting at the Berets near the village (Tongo Tongo) schoolhouse. When the Berets began retreating back towards the village and their vehicle, insurgents on 11 motorbikes attacked with AK's and RPG's. Other insurgents attacked in 10 technicals fitted with heavy caliber weapons. After the insurgents departed (roughly 2-3 hours later), villagers found two dead Berets within their vehicle and one dead Beret near it. All were stripped of clothing when found. Shell casings were everywhere. Villagers found blood on bushes, used smoke grenades, and empty boxes of ammunition. Two days later QRF forces found the body of Sgt. LaDavid Johnson about a mile away. This may have been a kidnap attempt or a cold blooded assassination. Johnson was also found naked and shot with his hands bound together by rope.

U.S. soldier in Niger ambush was bound and apparently executed, villagers say
 
From what I understand, additional body parts of Sgt La David Johnson have been located in Niger. Sgt Johnson was waked/interred in a closed casket ceremony.

It seems to me he could have been beheaded, or mutilated in some manner. Lord have Mercy.
 
Nick Turse reporting through The Intercept has some interesting information concerning overheard military conversations ar Stuttgart. Nothing really new but clarifications of the timeline and some possible insights into the status of Sgt. Johnson after the initial firefight.

https://theintercept.com/2017/12/10/la-david-johnson-niger-africom/

V/R
Evilroddy.
 
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