![]() It was believed to have been on a mission to kill or capture al-Sahraoui. The Pentagon has now said that a second team of US and Nigerien forces was close to the ambushed patrol. It is unclear when Johnson was killed, but the 25-year-old mechanic had become separated from the rest of the unit almost immediately after the ambush started, sources within the special forces community said. Three are thought to have been dead at the site. The French soldiers searched the immediate vicinity and evacuated survivors, including several who were wounded.įour US special forces soldiers were left behind. The account quoted a Nigerien soldier as saying that the surviving troops from the patrol were fighting off their attackers, standing back to back in a last stand, when reinforcements finally arrived.Īfter two hours, French special forces flown by helicopter from their base in Mali reached the site of the ambush, prompting the attackers to withdraw. ![]() American SF requested ‘danger close’ support and attempted to talk the CAS in, but the French Mirages alleged continued to refuse to engage,” the officer wrote in the mail, based on his own discussions with serving and retired special forces soldiers with knowledge of the incident.Ī spokesman for the French defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.Īccording to a CNN account of the incident, the attackers set fire to the dry bush around the encircled special forces soldiers to cover the battleground with smoke. Several French Mirage fighters responded, but refused to engage citing poor weather, rough terrain and an inability to differentiate friend from foe. “Airstrikes were requested as the Americans fought on. The delay has surprised and concerned experts and veterans. An hour passed before the trapped unit on the ground called for airstrikes against the militants who surrounded them. Two groups, roughly six Americans per group, fighting for their lives alone against a superior ALQ force,” the retired officer said.Ī US drone was on the site of the engagement within minutes, but was unarmed. “Except for those already dead or wounded, all of the Nigerien soldiers bugged out and left the Americans to fight … all by themselves. On hearing firing, the lead group of soldiers turned around to engage the militants. The retired special forces officer said he had been told by servicemen with detailed knowledge of the incident that “approximately half of the US/Nigerien force was allowed to pass through the ambush killzone before the ambush was sprung, trapping the rear half.” Local media in Niger revealed this week that Cheffou was in detention there until 2016 when he was freed in return for the release of an Australian hostage, Jocelyn Elliott.Ībout 50 men attacked the US and Nigerien unit with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
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