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US forces ambushed in Niger, officials say
October 04, 2017, 06:59 PM
downtownvUS forces ambushed in Niger, officials say
A squad of U.S. Special Operations troops have been ambushed in the west African country of Niger, U.S. officials told Fox News Wednesday.
U.S. Africa Command confirmed that a joint patrol of U.S. and Nigerien soliders came under fire in the southwestern part of the country, near the border with Mali. The statement did not mention any casualties, but officials are concerned there may be fatalities.
The officials told Fox News that between eight and 10 troops were part of the patrol.
The U.S. military set up a drone base in Niger in 2013 and has an advisory role in the country as part of anti-terror efforts in West Africa. The landlocked country, a former French colony, is one of the poorest nations in the world.
Niger shares a border with Nigeria, where Boko Haram controls part of the country. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb is also active in the region.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2...r-officials-say.htmlOctober 04, 2017, 08:15 PM
corsairThere's quite a bit of activity going on in that part of the world. Friend of mine just got back fulfilling a comms contract at an airport near there. He didn't go into details but basically said there's a revolving door of SOF guys and an alphabet soup of agencies going in/out. Some black but, most of it open-source available should anyone do any digging, it's all apart of the low-intensity operations trying to nip-Islamic terrorism before it becomes fully bloomed while keeping an eye on all the Chinese activity going on in AFRCOM.
This has a bit more
http://www.thedrive.com/the-wa...near-the-mali-borderOctober 04, 2017, 10:57 PM
oldfireguyMan this is so fucked up. One of the soldiers killed is the son of a close friend of ours. I was texting with her when she got the news. He leaves behind a wife and kids. He was an SF medic and that was his dream. Horrible news.
October 04, 2017, 11:11 PM
oddballAP is reporting three Green Berets killed, two wounded. Likely attacker AL Qaida
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
October 04, 2017, 11:54 PM
chongosuertequote:
Originally posted by oldfireguy:
Man this is so fucked up. One of the soldiers killed is the son of a close friend of ours. I was texting with her when she got the news. He leaves behind a wife and kids. He was an SF medic and that was his dream. Horrible news.
Terrible. Condolences to his family. Hopefully they collect their vengeance, tenfold.
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October 05, 2017, 04:07 AM
Elk HunterDamn, damn!
We lose more!!!!
Prayers, and tears, for the family members of those lost. Not to mention for the surviving team members.
Elk
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October 05, 2017, 05:01 AM
sourdough44Sorry to see this in the news. As usual, lots of stuff going on almost under the radar.
Prayers & thoughts to family and friends.
October 05, 2017, 06:01 AM
SgtGoldquote:
Originally posted by oldfireguy:
Man this is so fucked up. One of the soldiers killed is the son of a close friend of ours. I was texting with her when she got the news. He leaves behind a wife and kids. He was an SF medic and that was his dream. Horrible news.
My condolences to the family and friends.
_____________________________
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October 05, 2017, 06:31 AM
Rob DeckerShit.
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October 05, 2017, 06:48 AM
Jus228
!~God Bless the U.S. Military~!
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October 05, 2017, 07:45 PM
corsairLooks like French SOF with their air support helped save the day. For those unaware, the French are militarily, heavily involved in this region, as one of the few militaries able to conduct force projection, France doesn't get a lot of credit.
https://sofrep.com/91147/frenc...ench-soldier-killed/October 05, 2017, 07:52 PM
spunk639France doesn’t get a lot of credit but they have a SOF command that is kick ass.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...ions_Command_(France)
Great Movie on them is Forces Speciales very well done.
October 05, 2017, 07:54 PM
AirmanJeffquote:
Originally posted by corsair:
There's quite a bit of activity going on in that part of the world.
Has been for well over a decade.
October 06, 2017, 07:15 AM
Sig209Have a family member serving in and out of that area.
He stated since DJT came in the direct action missions have increased dramatically both in number and effectiveness.
I'll leave it at that.
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Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
October 07, 2017, 01:43 PM
corsairNow reporting, there's a fourth solider, who's remains were recovered from the ambush site, separate from the initial contact area.
https://sofrep.com/91218/body-u-s-soldier-missing-action-48-hours-found-niger/ quote:
So fierce was the attack that the Green Beret team was split into two and separated from one another amidst the ambush. One group of six split from the main assault and from what was explained to SOFREP, began moving themselves out of the kill box to possibly gain a more advantageous flanking position on the enemy in order to engage them. The other portion of the team was trapped inside the ambush and would fight their aggressors until the end, resulting in three U.S. Special Forces soldiers dead with two more wounded and reportedly eight Nigeriens dead or injured.
The other split element never linked back up with the other Americans after the French helicoptered in troops to assist the Green Berets and were considered missing in action after attempting to raise them over the radio. Five of the soldiers were found and accounted for, all except one, the young soldier who DoD has just announced dead today. He had been missing in action for 48 hours and was a mechanic assigned the the Green Beret team who was also driving one of the vehicles reportedly coming back from a joint direct action raid.
October 07, 2017, 04:02 PM
corsairWill be interesting to hear who the meeting was with and if they were complicit is giving away time/date of the meeting or, who in their inner circle gave up the time/date.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/06/...er-ambush/index.htmlNaturally, the CNN 'reporter' had to get a Trump dig into her report.
quote:
Johnson's group was attacked near the Niger-Mali border by up to 50 fighters thought to be affiliated with ISIS, a US official said.
The 12-member US team was leaving a meeting in unarmored pick-up trucks when they began taking fire from small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, according to a US defense official.
With window glass exploding all around them, the service members, including multiple Army Special Forces soldiers, exited the vehicles, ran for cover, and began returning fire, killing some of the attacking militants.
....
Elite US special operations forces troops were flown in from the continental US to aid in the recovery effort. US Navy SEALs were deployed to a US military base in Sigonella, Sicily, in anticipation of a possible rescue attempt, but never went into Niger.
"We had everything, jets, rotary wings, (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), various platforms, human intelligence, signals intelligence, you name it," US Army Col. Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for Africa Command told reporters at the Pentagon Friday via a phone call. "There was a full-court press by all of (the Department of Defense), the Nigerien government, the Department of State and the French to help us recover our lost one."
October 07, 2017, 04:13 PM
Yanert98My deepest sympathies to the families of these brave men.
And may we rain hell down on the bastards who did this.
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"If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.." - Thomas Sowell
October 07, 2017, 04:26 PM
dry-flyGod bless and be with them all. I can’t imagine.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
October 07, 2017, 06:09 PM
gw3971quote:
Originally posted by Yanert98:
My deepest sympathies to the families of these brave men.
And may we rain hell down on the bastards who did this.
The calm before the storm...
October 07, 2017, 09:07 PM
Jimbo JonesCondolences to the families of the troopers that lost their lives.
France has been kicking as there for a while. Search for Operation Serval and Operation Barkhane.
quote:
Originally posted by spunk639:
France doesn’t get a lot of credit but they have a SOF command that is kick ass.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...ions_Command_(France)
Great Movie on them is Forces Speciales very well done.
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