The Tongo Tongo ambush will probably end up being a Hollywood movie one day, but for now it is simply not talked about. On October 4, 2017, while Nigerien and US soldiers were returning to base from a stop in the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) ambushed them. At least 21 ISGS militants were killed during the ambush, and eight Nigerians and two US soldiers, including the team commander, were wounded. This incident is known as the Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush. The US and Nigerien soldiers performed a mission the day before the ambush to track down Doundou Chefou, a commander in the ISGS, and either kill or capture him. Since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, the ambush has resulted in the greatest loss of American lives in battle in Africa.
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In order to understand this attack, we really have to go back in time a little. In January 2013, the US meet with Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou and establish an agreement for the deployment of unarmed surveillance drones. The US deploy 150 military personnel to Niger who setup this surveillance drone program which would aid US operations in the region but also assists France in their counterterrorism efforts in the Northern Mali conflict. The relationship between the US and Niger grows and the countries sign an agreement to combat terrorism together. The US deploys special forces personnel to train Niger Armed Forces so they can fight terrorism. The number of troops in the country balloons to about 800.
Background
In 2015, ISIS is becoming a problem on the world stage and really begins to make an impact in Africa. While much of the world is focused on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the terrorist organization continues to grow in Africa and begins launching attacks in the region. They specifically begin attacking governments that support the French and United Nations forces in Burkina Faso, Mali, and of course Niger. As a result, attacks begin to occur in Niger and the US become concerned for the security of their military base there as well as the security of the pro-government in power.
On October 2nd, 2017, a US Special Forces team receives intelligence that a high-value ISIS commander is operating in their region. The team coordinates a mission plan, and it is approved on October 3rd. The team head out towards the vicinity of Tiloa operating an eight vehicle convoy. The convoy is split up with the Americans in two technical and an unarmored Toyota Land Cruiser while Nigeriens travel in five vehicles. One of the vehicles was provided and outfitted by the CIA.
While in Tiloa, the team fail to locate the ISIS commander and decide to head back to base. While, on the way back to base they receive information that places the commander just northwest of Tiola at the Mali border. Due to bad weather, a helicopter team is cancelled forcing the convoy team to head out on their own. The team reach the area they believed the commander to be in but again come up empty handed and are ordered to return to base. The team commander requested air support to continue monitoring the area to collect intelligence in case the enemy was moving in any of the routes there. Unfortunately, this in turn left the team unprotected by air support as they left towards Tongo Tongo.
The Stop
The convoy stopped at Tongo Tongo village on October 4 at 10:30 a.m. (local time) so that partner Nigeriens could have breakfast and get water. The US and Nigerien team leaders opposed to the mission since they were neither heavily armed or equipped for intense warfare should they come across Chefou’s ISIS fighters on their own. During this time, team members met with local officials and 27 men from the community. The US soldiers were divided into two groups: one that would remain behind and guard the vehicles and another that would attend the meeting. However, the meeting would drag on with the local leaders delaying the soldiers’ departure by stalling and making them wait. A higher command overruled the team leaders’ concerns. The team believed the local leader was involved in an impending attack when they saw two motorcycles race out of the village. After the meeting was over, the soldiers walked back to the rest of the unit and their unarmored pickup trucks. The meeting took place for 30 minutes longer than the team leader had anticipated.
The Ambush
At 11:35 a.m., the caravan of eight vehicles departed the village. on their intended return journey to base. Armed ISGS militants, thought to be under the command of Doundou Chefou, a lieutenant in the terrorist organisation given the code name “Naylor Road” by US forces, started their assault towards the rear of the convoy some 100 metres outside of the settlement. The militants permitted the convoy to pass through the kill zone before assaulting, trapping the rear of the convoy. They had arrived with a dozen technicals and around 20 motorbikes and were armed with small arms, vehicle mounted heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, and mortars.
The convoy came to a stop as the enemy force mounted and moved through the forest line. When the squad discovered enemy engagement, they quickly retaliated with M240 machine guns placed on their vehicles, while the rest of the team dismounted from their vehicles, put on safety gear, and started exchanging small-arms fire. The team sergeant instructed the rear US vehicle to drive to the middle of the convoy to better coordinate machine gun fire with US vehicle one while the team leader and four Nigerien soldiers drove to the southeast to flank what was believed to be a small enemy presence.
The back Nigerien car then left the region through an unidentified route at this point. When they came to a body of water that prevented their flanking movement, the team commander and the four Nigerien soldiers recognised and attacked the enemy across the river, killing about four militants. The team leader noticed a larger enemy force, including armed motorcycle riders and trucks with machine guns attached, moving from his east. At 11:57 a.m., the team leader joined the convoy that had been stopped. and instructed the convoy to move south in order to avoid being outflanked. Team Quallem members engaged in a number of enemy killing actions as they left the area of the ambush. Niger vehicles one and two were the first vehicles to depart. A smoke grenade was deployed to hide the team’s movement south to regroup with the Nigeriens. Team members last saw Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Dustin Wright taking cover behind the teams unarmored SUV.
Black and Jeremiah Johnson raced beside Wright as he got into the SUV and started to gently drive south while continuing to suppress the enemy while under heavy fire. Black fled and hid behind a nearby tree after passing through the coloured smoke as Jeremiah Johnson fired over the car’s hood in the direction of the tree line. Jeremiah Johnson was exposed to enemy fire when he fell to the ground as they continued to march south while under fire. To get him under cover, Wright quickly backed up the SUV. Black was hit by small weapons fire as he was slightly in front of the SUV, instantly killing him. After regaining his balance, Jeremiah Johnson ran to Black to check for injuries. When the car came to a stop, Wright got out, turned to face the opposition, and carried Black into safety. The two stayed by Black’s body as they evaluated his injuries.
They eventually hurriedly left their location as the enemy troops advanced. Jeremiah Johnson was hit by hostile fire and lost consciousness about 85 metres southwest of the SUV; Wright halted moving and went back to Jeremiah Johnson’s location. Wright persisted in engaging the opposition until enemy fire rendered him helpless. The extremists opened fire on Wright and Jeremiah Johnson from close range, killing them both.
The American and Nigerien forces constructed a backup position after first evading the attack spot. When it was discovered that Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Wright were missing, two team members offered to return to the scene of the ambush to look for vehicle three. Before withdrawing to a safe place under heavy fire, they battled and killed a number of militants as they made their way toward the ambush spot. Two more team members would now return to the original ambush location to assist in locating the missing comrades.
The remaining team members and partner troops in the secondary location were forced to get into their vehicles and flee the area quickly after being compelled to do so by hostile fire. Sergeant La David Johnson and two soldiers from Niger were cut off from the remainder of their group during this manoeuvre. The other cars had departed the area, thinking he had successfully re-entered his car. La David Johnson and the two Nigeriens had to flee and elude on foot since he was unable to get into his car owing to intense enemy fire. La David continued running over the wide-open desert until enemy fire claimed the lives of both Nigerien soldiers. La David hid under a thick, thorny tree about 960 metres from the initial ambush spot and faced the approaching foe. La David Johnson was quickly pinned down when a car with a mounted machine gun stopped just 100 metres away from him. Between 12:30 and 12:45 p.m., La David Johnson was murdered by a small weapons attack. La David Johnson was discovered lying on his back with his arms at his sides and had wounds consistent with intermittent fire as he actively engaged the enemy, contrary to initial accounts that suggested he had been kidnapped and put to death.
As the main Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) element tried to elude the enemy, they came under heavy fire, which caused to the death of one Nigerien soldier and multiple bullet wounds for the team leader and team sergeant. The ODA leader was thrown from the pickup truck during this prolonged attack. The injured team leader was rescued after the team made a circuit of the area.
At this point, the team’s car got stuck and was unable to move forward. The remaining team members and partner force would reassemble along with the four team members that split from the second position. Seven American and four Nigerian soldiers would flee into the wooded area under heavy fire to make contact with the enemy. They would set up a perimeter and start attending to the injured. To prevent their radios from falling into enemy hands, the unit radioed in that they were being overrun before destroying them. Team members would see Nigerien soldiers on the ground praying as they prepared for the worst by sending farewell texts to loved ones on their mobile devices.
Nearly an hour after they first came under fire, US forces made the first request for extra assistance. Unarmed US drone began filming the firefight within minutes. French Mirage jets were ordered to respond to the ambush and arrived about 30 minutes after notification. Despite the arrival of air support, the French pilots were unable to engage because they were unable to quickly identify enemy forces in the firefight. Nevertheless, the fighter jets’ presence ended the engagement. Two French Super Puma helicopters were brought in from Mali to evacuate the injured while Berry Aviation (independent contractor) evacuated the fallen US soldiers. A French special operations unit arrived on the site three to four hours after the soldiers requested assistance.
Post-ambush
Two US soldiers were discovered in the pickup truck’s bed, and one US soldier was discovered sleeping next to an enemy pickup vehicle when the men were discovered. All of the soldiers’ usable gear was taken away, including their boots and body armour. Later, footage from Jeremiah Johnson’s helmet camera that captured the engagement and the troops’ deaths was uploaded online. La David Johnson’s body was discovered on October 6 by youngsters caring for cattle. He was roughly one mile from the ambush area when his body was discovered. On November 12, more La David Johnson remains were discovered at the location where his body was collected. All of the soldiers had sustained additional close-range fire and displayed injuries consistent with small-arms fire. All fatalities were categorised as either immediately lethal or quickly fatal.
Casualties
Five Nigerians were killed and eight others were injured. Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, La David Johnson, and Dustin Wright were the four US soldiers who perished. The two wounded American servicemen were flown to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
Ben