World

U.S. Official: Niger Ambush Of U.S. Troops Was 'Set Up' By Villagers

NPR | By Scott Neuman

Published October 26, 2017 at 7:53 AM EDT

Images provided by the U.S. Army of soldiers killed in Niger show, from left, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Fla.; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga.

The ambush of a patrol in Niger this month that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. Army soldiers is believed to have been a "set up" in which their location was exposed by villagers who tipped off ISIS-affiliated militants, a U.S. official tells NPR.

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman reports that the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says when the patrol of U.S. and Niger troops stopped in a village near the border with Mali to get water, locals there gave them "the cold stare."

The soldiers felt uncomfortable by the scrutiny and the patrol left shortly afterwards to spend the night in a different location.

The official says the attack that followed is believed to have been a "set-up" by the villagers.

As we reported earlier, the patrol of about a dozen U.S. troops with members of Niger's military had gone to meet villagers near the border with Mali when they were ambushed.