U.S. sends troops to Niger for drone missions

[emptystep]

America must help the Mali people remain free to live under their current French puppet dictator.

And has nothing to do Mali being the 3rd largest gold producer in Africa.

Or that the country sets on top of 1 billion tons of bauxite. (basic element of aluminum)........

It has absolutely nothing to do with regional peace?

I will tell you one completely stupid thing America does in this regard. We don't lock up commercial contracts for military assistance given. America goes in there, protects the people, and then lets them sign commercial contracts with whomever they chose, as long as there is not sanctions involved.

 

[Sunni Man]

America must help the Mali people remain free to live under their current French puppet dictator.

And has nothing to do Mali being the 3rd largest gold producer in Africa.

Or that the country sets on top of 1 billion tons of bauxite. (basic element of aluminum)........

It has absolutely nothing to do with regional peace?

I will tell you one completely stupid thing America does in this regard. We don't lock up commercial contracts for military assistance given. America goes in there, protects the people, and then lets them sign commercial contracts with whomever they chose, as long as there is not sanctions involved.

#1) We shouldn't be involved in the internal problems and civil unrest of other countries. They need to sort these things themselves and then we will do business with the winner.

#2) China is going all over Africa and securing all kinds of mineral and land resource contracts while we chase so called terrorists. 20 yrs. from now we will see this has been a terrible mistake on our part.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Why do foreign countries allow American troops, military equipment and even the CIA to operate on their turf? Can it be that much of the world wants and needs our involvement and trusts us to do the right (not perfect) thing?

Did the CIA get permission from Libya and Syria?

Not that the CIA needs permission mind you.

 

[waltky]

What are we doin' on the ground in Niger?...

Elite US troops killed and wounded during surprise attack in Niger
October 5,`17 - Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger in northwestern Africa on Wednesday after their joint patrol with Nigerien forces was ambushed.

One “partner nation member” also died, and two other Americans were wounded, according to U.S. Africa Command, which released new details about the incident early Thursday. The wounded were evacuated to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where they were in stable condition, officials said. The Pentagon has not disclosed the troops’ names or service affiliation, pending notification of their families. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed for The Washington Post that those involved were assigned to an elite Special Forces unit. The incident occurred near the border with Mali. The deaths were first confirmed Wednesday by the New York Times.

U.S. Africa Command, which is based in Stuttgart, Germany, has provided no details about the mission, except to say it was for counterterrorism purposes. It’s unclear, though, why this unit would come into contact with enemy forces while performing what’s typically considered a training and advisory role. The deaths mark the first known hostile-fire casualties in Niger. A 3rd Special Forces Group soldier was killed in a vehicle accident there in February. Local media reported that the joint patrol was lured into an ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo in the Tillaberi region. The attackers were described as coming from neighboring Mali, where al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch has been battling both the government and a French-led coalition seeking to root them out of their desert hideouts.

A U.S. Army Special Forces weapons sergeant observes Nigerien soldiers during marksmanship training in Diffa, Niger​

The United States has expanded its operations in Niger in recent years, including surveillance drone flights piloted from Niamey, the capital. The United States is also finishing construction on an installation at Agadez, a central city in the Sahara, that will move flights closer to southern Libya and northern Mali. Closer proximity will allow longer flights, giving drone operators more time to monitor remote desert stretches where militants are known to traverse. The 3rd Special Forces Group and other forces are tasked with training missions in Niger to combat extremist groups in the region, including security assistance with intelligence and reconnaissance efforts. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operates in Mali, further straining security on the border region.

Nasser Weddady, a regional security analyst, told The Post it was unusual for U.S. troops to operate far into the western parts of the country. However, the Drive website reported that the Pentagon contracted fuel deliveries for Ouallam, a city about halfway between the capital and the Mali border. Weapons flooded into the remote Sahara desert region after the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya in 2011, arming Tuareg separatists and Islamist militants who took refuge there. An al-Qaeda-linked group briefly took over most of northern Mali in 2012 before it was defeated by a French military intervention. Remnants of the group still carry out attacks and kidnap Westerners. Niger also faces spillover from the radical Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, which has expanded into attacking neighboring countries.

Elite U.S. troops killed and wounded during surprise attack in Niger

 

[waltky]

Another U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger...

Fourth U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger
October 6, 2017 | WASHINGTON — After an extensive search, a U.S. soldier who had been missing for nearly two days in Niger has been found dead, a result of a deadly ambush by dozens of Islamic extremists on a joint patrol of American and Niger forces, U.S. officials said Friday. The soldier, whose name has not been released, was one of four U.S. troops and four Niger forces killed in the attack.

His body was found by Niger forces on Friday near where the ambush occurred, and then transferred into U.S. custody at a safer location further from the attack site. U.S. officials said his body was moved onto an American helicopter by U.S. forces in a somber ceremony and then taken away for formal identification. Eight Niger soldiers and two U.S. troops were wounded in the attack, but they were evacuated from the area on Wednesday after the attack unfolded. U.S. officials described a chaotic assault, as 40-50 extremists in vehicles and on motorcycles fired rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns at the patrol, setting off explosions and shattering windows. The soldiers got out of their trucks, returning fire and calling in support from French helicopters and fighter jets that quickly responded to the scene, according to officials. The officials weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials say they believe extremists linked to the Islamic State group were responsible for the attack about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Niger’s capital, Niamey. The U.S. and Niger forces were leaving a meeting with tribal leaders when they were ambushed. Most of the U.S. troops were Army special forces. According to a statement by Niger’s army chief of staff, the joint patrol was attacked by “terrorist elements” in a dozen vehicles and about 20 motorcycles. The statement said the deaths and injuries came “after intense fighting, during which elements of the joint force showed exemplary courage.”

A C-130 U.S. Air Force plane lands as Nigerien soldiers stand in formation during the Flintlock military exercise in Diffa, Niger​

U.S. special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger’s forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, the Pentagon said. Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad are putting together a 5,000-strong G5 Sahel force to fight the growing threat from extremists in the vast Sahel region. The first units are expected to deploy in October and all battalions should be on the ground by March 2018.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in June welcoming the deployment, but at U.S. insistence it did not include any possibility of U.N. financing for the force. That force will operate in the region along with a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has become the deadliest in the world for U.N. peacekeepers, and France’s 5,000-strong Barkhane military operation, its largest overseas mission.

Fourth U.S. soldier found dead after attack in Niger

 

[AVISSSER]

It happens. F*** around in enough shit holes you are gonna take casualties. Something tells me this wasn't just a normal AFRICOM 'training patrol'.

 

[waltky]

Special Operations Takes on Growing Risk in Niger Mission...

Special Operations Takes on Risk in Growing Niger Mission
7 Oct 2017 | The United States has quietly moved scores of additional troops in recent months into Niger, home to the second-largest contingent of American servicemembers on the African continent, and an operational anchor for an increasingly dangerous counter-terrorism mission.

U.S. operations in Niger provide support for local troops in the fight against extremist groups such as Boko Haram and al-Qaida in the Maghreb. The mission's risks were highlighted Wednesday when four U.S. servicemembers were killed while on patrol. There are now about 800 U.S. troops working in Niger, up from 645 in June, according to U.S. Africa Command. Only the small east African nation of Djibouti, home to the U.S.'s major troop hub Camp Lemonnier, has more forces, with roughly 4,000 personnel. The growth in troop numbers in Niger is because the United States has two "security cooperation locations" in the country, one in the capital of Niamey and a newer outpost under development to the north in Agadez, said Samantha Reho, an AFRICOM spokeswoman.

AFRICOM has set up a series of such locations throughout Africa in recent years, part of a broader effort to facilitate troop movements and reduce crisis-response times. On Wednesday, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, all Green Berets with the 3rd Special Forces Group, were killed when they came under fire during a joint patrol with Nigerien troops, the Pentagon said. A fourth U.S. servicemember was also killed in the ambush, but the Pentagon had not identified him as of Friday, pending next-of-kin notification. "I think clearly there's risk for our forces in Niger," said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff, during a news conference Thursday. Niger, a country situated between Mali and Nigeria, serves as a launching pad for surveillance of several extremist groups active in the region.

Gen. Thomas Waldhauser (left), commander of the U.S. Africa Command, meets with Nigerian civilian leaders outside of Agadez, Niger​

In Mali, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has conducted cross-border attacks, while Boko Haram, arguably the most lethal terrorist group in Africa, launches frequent attacks into Niger from strongholds in northern Nigeria. Special operations forces in Niger play a key role advising local forces responsible for leading the fight against militants. The military has offered few details about the mission Wednesday that resulted in the deaths of four troops other than to say the forces were on patrol and serving as advisers to their Nigerien counterparts. They were the first combat fatalities for U.S. troops in Niger. The military hasn't identified the militant group that may have been behind the attack or said whether surveillance aircraft were able to provide support. The patrol occurred near Niger's border with Mali, where al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and several smaller extremist groups are known to operate.

The United States is not currently believed to be conducting armed drone flights from its outposts in Niger or nearby Cameroon, so it is unclear whether fire support from the air was an immediate option. As construction commenced in 2016 on a new drone site in Agadez, AFRICOM was mum on how surveillance operations could evolve over time. "The arming of any aircraft, including remotely piloted aircraft, is done with the approval of and upon coordination with the government of Niger," AFRICOM said at the time. It said it would not discuss specifics about military efforts or "speculate on potential future activities or operations." The Pentagon declined to go into details about the patrol that turned deadly. The New York Times reported the firefight was relatively brief: a 30 minute-clash that included about 10 U.S. troops and 20 Nigerian forces.

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