The soldiers' next of kin were briefed on details of the investigation by Pentagon officials last week. His remains were found some 36 hours after he was declared missing. La David Johnson was killed at another location more than 700 yards away.Īccording to military investigators, La David Johnson was unintentionally left behind while fighting alongside Nigerien partner forces. They were killed while being surrounded during an attempted escape. Wright, Black, and Jeremiah Johnson were killed fighting in one location near the remote village of Tongo Tongo. Jeremiah Johnson was an Army support enabler. Wright, La David Johnson, and Black were US Army Green Berets. The Pentagon has briefed the families of Staff Sgt Dustin Wright, 29 Staff Sgt Bryan Black, 35 Staff Sgt Jeremiah Johnson, 39 and Sgt LaDavid Johnson. The upcoming Niger report will hopefully shed more light on the events leading up to the ambush, as well as what can be learned to avoid future disasters.'The sad thing is, they didn't realize they'd been left behind, and by the time the other guys attempted to get to them, it was probably too late, and they'd been killed.' Staff Sergeant Bryan Black Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright Sergeant La David Johnson Low visibility civilian vehicles may be of little benefit when the forces operating such vehicles are in distinctly American uniforms and place high visibility military items, like satellite antennas, on their vehicles’ exteriors. Oshkosh M-ATVs, for instance, could be more appropriate for the evolving threat environment in Africa. That policy appears to have been revised in light of the ambush, as the Pentagon received permission from the government of Niger to begin flying armed drones from Niamey late last year.Īnother policy that may face revision is the use of lightly armored, low visibility vehicles. aircraft had authority to launch kinetic strikes. 4 near the Nigerien border with Mali.Īt the time, Libya and Somalia were the only two regions where U.S. 3 to meet with local leaders before the morning ambush on Oct.
Prior reports state that the patrol had traveled roughly 120 miles north of Niamey, the capital, on Oct. Physical distance, poor communications, and a reliance on French aircraft possibly compounded the delayed response time. It remains unclear why aircraft were not able to support the U.S.-led team in a timely manner after the engagement began. troops normally have air assets to provide close air support. Militants surround him and fire at point-blank range.Īfter assessing the footage, a former Marine Raider told Military Times, “I think whatever security assessment they got was incomplete or inaccurate.”įacing a numerically superior force, U.S. The footage ends after it appears the soldier with the camera succumbed to his wounds. Instead, they sprint, possibly because they were being pursued by too many militants to justify the delay of periodically stopping to fire.Įventually, the individual with the helmet camera, suffering from unknown wounds, appears to fall and re-engage the militants. The two soldiers do not bound backwards, a tactic in which they would normally provide covering fire for one another as they run individually. Regardless, after one of the soldiers goes down and another is wounded, the two remaining look close to being overrun and make a break for a nearby tree line. troops appear to be maneuvering toward a red smoke grenade, perhaps as a rallying point amidst the confusion or to mark their position before a potential airstrike. 4 ambush about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niger's capital, Niamey. 12, 2018 that Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi with the self-professed IS affiliate claimed responsibility for the Oct. The Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency reported Friday, Jan.
4, 2017, by militants believed linked to the Islamic State group. All four were killed in Niger, when a joint patrol of American and Niger forces was ambushed on Oct.
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