US soldier killed in Niger ambush was not captured, military report finds

[Eugene]

Last edited Sun Dec 17, 2017, 03:40 PM - Edit history (1)

EDIT: The AP posted a later report:

APNewsBreak: US soldier fought to end after ambush in Niger

______________________________________________________________________

Source: Associated Press

US soldier killed in Niger ambush was not captured, military report finds

Associated Press in Washington
Sunday 17 December 2017 18.59 GMT

An American soldier who was killed in an ambush in Niger with three comrades but whose body was only recovered days later was not captured alive by the enemy or executed at close range, the Associated Press has learned, based on the conclusion of a military investigation.

Dispelling a swirl of rumors about the death of Sgt La David Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, the report determined that he was killed by enemy rifle and machine gun fire as he fled the attack by an offshoot of the Islamic State group about 120 miles north of Niamey, the capital of Niger. The attack took place on 4 October Johnson’s body was recovered two days later.

Johnson’s death led to a political squabble between Donald Trump and a Democratic congresswoman from Florida after Trump told Johnson’s pregnant widow in a phone call her husband “knew what he signed up for”.

Frederica Wilson was riding with Johnson’s family to meet the body and heard the call on speakerphone. The spat grew to include Trump’s chief of staff, the retired marine general John Kelly, who called Wilson an “empty barrel”.

US officials familiar with the findings of the report spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of an investigation that has not been finalized or publicly released.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/17/us-soldier-la-david-johnson-niger-attack

[hlthe2b]

1. the way this has been handled has decimated their credibility...

I hope that this current assessment is true, though.

[flotsam]

2. So, What were the "additional remains"

found days after the body was sent home? Sounds like another parsing of words-"Question-was the body desecrated post mortem?"...

[gibraltar72]

3. But

he is still dead. Another colossal fuck up on Trumps watch!

[Eugene]

4. APNewsBreak: US soldier fought to end after ambush in Niger

Source: Associated Press

APNewsBreak: US soldier fought to end after ambush in Niger

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
50 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson died in a hail of gunfire, hit as many as 18 times as he took cover in thick brush, fighting to the end after fleeing militants who had just killed three comrades in an October ambush in Niger, The Associated Press has learned.

A military investigation has concluded that Johnson wasn’t captured alive or killed at close range, dispelling a swirl of rumors about how he died.

The report has determined that Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was killed by enemy rifle and machine gun fire from members of an Islamic State offshoot, according to U.S. officials familiar with the findings. The Oct. 4 ambush took place about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niamey, the African nation’s capital. Johnson’s body was recovered two days later.

U.S. officials familiar with the findings spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to describe details of an investigation that has not been finalized or publicly released.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/285f70fdad5a41908636851b6d8ac7b2/APNewsBreak:-US-soldier-fought-to-end-after-ambush-in-Niger