In the early morning hours of 6 December 2017, militants believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State in West Africa attacked a patrol of US Army Special Forces and Nigerian soldiers near Diffa, in the Lake Chad Basin Region in Niger.[1] During the ensuing firefight, Nigerian and American personnel suffered no casualties while 11 militants, including two wearing suicide vests, were killed. An enemy weapons cache was also destroyed by the joint US/Nigerian force.[2][3] The firefight was not planned as the purpose of the mission was aimed at setting "the conditions for future partner-led operations against violent extremist organizations in the region".[4]
| Chad Basin clash | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Niger and American military intervention in Niger | |||||||
 US and Nigerian soldiers training together in Diffa, on 28 February 2017. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Niger Army Special Forces France |
 Islamic State – West Africa Province | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None |
11 killed
| ||||||
The attack came a little over two months after the deadly ambush in the village of Tongo Tongo that left at least 30 dead including four American Special Forces personnel.[5] The December firefight was not initially reported and only learned three months later after a declassified report made for Congress was obtained by The New York Times.[6] The firefight is just one of 10 other incidents involving American personal in Niger.[7] During these previous firefights, excluding the ambush that happened two months earlier, only a few enemy combatants were killed while no Americans or Nigerians were hurt.
This event and, most prominently, the October ambush led to security changes for US forces operating in the region such as armored vehicles instead of lightly armored SUV's, the arming of drones, and taking a closer look at when US forces conduct operations with local troops.[8]
References
edit- ^ de Salve, Eric (16 March 2018). "Niger: l'armée américaine confirme un accrochage avec des jihadistes en décembre". Radio France International (in French). Archived from the original on 28 December 2021.
- ^ Choi, David. "US Special Forces troops killed 11 ISIS fighters in an undisclosed firefight in Niger". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021.
- ^ "US, Nigerien troops kill 11 ISIS militants in previously undisclosed mission". Stars and Stripes.
- ^ Browne, Ryan (15 March 2018). "US military reveals new firefight in Niger". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022.
- ^ Callimachi, Rukmini; Cooper, Helene; Schmitt, Eric; Blinder, Alan; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (17 February 2018). "'An Endless War': Why 4 U.S. Soldiers Died in a Remote African Desert" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Savage, Charlie; Schmitt, Eric; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (15 March 2018). "U.S. Kept Silent About Its Role in Another Firefight in Niger". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022.
- ^ Murphy, Mike. "U.S. troops involved in at least 10 undisclosed firefights in West Africa: report". MarketWatch.
- ^ "U.S. Military boosts troop security after deadly Niger ambush". CBS News. AP. 31 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2022.