An honor guard carries the coffin of U.S. Army Sergeant La David Johnson. October 21, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Washington Post: U.S. soldier in Niger ambush was bound and apparently executed, villagers say
NIAMEY, Niger — The body of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four U.S. soldiers killed in an ambush by Islamist militants in Niger last month, was found with his arms tied and a gaping wound at the back of his head, according to two villagers, suggesting that he may have been captured and then executed.
Adamou Boubacar, a 23-year-old farmer and trader, said some children tending cattle found the remains of the soldier Oct. 6, two days after the attack outside the remote Niger village of Tongo Tongo, which also left five Nigerien soldiers dead. The children notified him.
When Boubacar went to the location, a bushy area roughly a mile from the ambush site, he saw Johnson’s body lying face down, he said. The back of his head had been smashed by something, possibly a bullet, said Boubacar. The soldier’s wrists were bound with rope, he said, raising the possibility that the militants — whom the Pentagon suspects were affiliated with the Islamic State — seized Johnson during the firefight and held him captive.
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Update #1: Villagers say US soldier in Niger was bound, apparently executed -- The Hill
Update #2: Sgt. La David Johnson may have been captured, executed in Niger: Report (Washington Examiner)
WNU Editor: The Niger investigation will be completed by January .... Niger ambush investigation expected to be complete in January, Pentagon says (ABC News).
