Pentagon probe finds training, command issues in Niger ambush

A comprehensive probe into last year's assault of US and local forces in Niger uncovered a series of avoidable blunders leading up to the deadly attack, the Pentagon said Thursday. Four American soldiers and four Nigerien partners were killed in the October 4 ambush, when scores of jihadists overran their convoy in southwestern Niger, near the Mali border. While the Pentagon said all four US soldiers fought bravely and "died with honor," investigators found they had not been properly trained ahead of the mission and pointed to problems with how it was approved in the first place.
The US soldiers, who belonged to a special operations team, had deployed to the western African nation in the autumn to conduct counter-terrorism assistance and training with the Nigerien military. Currently about 800 US troops are in Niger. But at the time of their deployment, only half of the US team had conducted any collective training together, according to an eight-page summary of findings of the investigation, which itself remains classified.
Their mission on October 3 was to "find/fix and, if possible, capture" a key member of a group calling itself the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, the summary states. Officials did not name the target, though the group is led by led by Adnan Abu Walid Sahrawi. However, the US team commander had "inaccurately characterized" the nature of the mission in order to get it approved at a low level instead of requesting permission from battalion-level commanders based in Chad.
The language used for the mission had been cut and paste from previous operations and "a lack of attention to detail in quality control and quality assurance," together with inadequate approvals "all contributed to a general lack of situational awareness and command oversight at every echelon," the report summary states. And prior to setting out on the operation, the US team failed to conduct pre-mission rehearsals or battle drills with their Nigerien counterparts, the report found. Eleven US forces and more than 30 Nigeriens went out on the mission.