Tongo Tongo ambush

First Class Brent Bartels (WIA) Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi Doundou Chefou Tinka ag Almouner † Al Mahmoud ag Baye † Units involved Niger Armed Forces Security and Intelligence Battalion 433rd Special Interdiction Company 3rd Special Forces Group Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 3212 France French Air Force Chimère special operations team, 1st RPIMa Islamic State in the Greater Sahara Strength 35 personnel, 5 vehicles 10 soldiers, 1 intelligence contractor 2 technicals , 1 unarmed Toyota Land Cruiser Reinforcements: 53 soldiers, 2 Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jets 2 Tiger attack helicopters 2 Super Puma helicopters 15 aircraft total 3 ground Quick Reaction Force elements of at least 100 soldiers, 1 helicopter 2 UAVs 50-100+ militants, ~12 technicals, ~20 motorcycles Casualties and losses 9 killed, 10 wounded 4 soldiers killed, 1 interpreter killed, 8 wounded 4 killed, 2 wounded At least 21 killed Tongo Tongo Location within Niger The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and US soldiers outside the village of Tongo Tongo , Niger while they were returning to base after a stop in the village. During the ambush, five Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 ISGS militants were killed and eight Nigeriens and two US soldiers including the team commander were wounded. In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou , a commander in the ISGS. The ambush sparked political debate over the presence of US forces in Africa and brought attention to previously under-reported US military activities in the region. The ambush also prompted congressional inquiries, and an investigation by the US Department of Defense . The US Department of Defense inquiry, completed in 2018, found that the 11-member US special forces team was not prepared for the mission, and identified other flaws in planning. The ambush remains the largest loss of American lives in combat in Africa since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Who Is the Army Punishing?" . The New York Times . Soldiers Died in a Remote African Desert" . The New York Times . "Sauver des bérets verts" [Rescue Green Berets] (in French). 14 November 2017. The Pentagon: CBS News . America's shadow wars in Africa, explained" .

First Class Brent Bartels (WIA) Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi Doundou Chefou Tinka ag Almouner † Al Mahmoud ag Baye † Units involved Niger Armed Forces Security and Intelligence Battalion 433rd Special Interdiction Company 3rd Special Forces Group Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 3212 France French Air Force Chimère special operations team, 1st RPIMa Islamic State in the Greater Sahara Strength 35 personnel, 5 vehicles 10 soldiers, 1 intelligence contractor 2 technicals , 1 unarmed Toyota Land Cruiser Reinforcements: 53 commandos, 2 Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jets 2 Tiger attack helicopters 2 Super Puma helicopters 15 aircraft total 3 ground Quick Reaction Force elements of at least 100 soldiers, 1 helicopter 2 UAVs 100+ militants, ~12 technicals, ~20 motorcycles Casualties and losses 9 killed, 10 wounded: 4 soldiers killed, 1 interpreter killed, 8 wounded 4 soldiers killed, 2 wounded At least 21 killed Tongo Tongo Location within Niger The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and US soldiers outside the village of Tongo Tongo , Niger , while they were returning to base after a stop in the village. During the ambush, four Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 ISGS militants were killed, and eight Nigeriens and two US soldiers including the team commander were wounded. In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou , a commander in the ISGS. The ambush sparked political debate over the presence of US forces in Africa and brought attention to previously under-reported US military activities in the region. The ambush also prompted congressional inquiries, and an investigation by the US Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD inquiry, completed in 2018, found that the 11-member US special forces team was not prepared for the mission, and identified other flaws in planning. The ambush remains the largest loss of American lives in combat in Africa since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Who Is the Army Punishing?" . The New York Times . Soldiers Died in a Remote African Desert" . The New York Times . The New York Times . "Sauver des bérets verts" [Rescue Green Berets] (in French). 14 November 2017. The New York Times . America's shadow wars in Africa, explained" .