ISIS Video Of 4 US Soldiers In Niger Shows Their Last Moments

The Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday released a video showing its fighters attacking and killing four soldiers from the United States in Tongo Tongo, Niger, in an ambush.

It appears the 9 minute, 15 second video, posted on an ISIS outlet on the messaging app Telegram, was shot using a helmet camera worn by one of the soldiers killed in the ambush carried out by around 50 fighters of the terror group Oct. 4, 2017. The soldiers were returning after a patrol when the attack happened. However, it is not yet known why the terror outfit released the video now, nearly five months after the incident, CBS News reported. The Pentagon has not released any statement regarding the video yet.

The video begins with footages showing ISIS militants surrounding a group of soldiers, comprising 11 Americans and 30 Nigerians, who were on patrol, and firing at them using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The soldiers initially tried to hide behind their patrol vehicle, while one of the soldiers drove it along the desert in a desperate bid to escape from the area.

The soldiers also fired colored smoke grenades hoping that some friendly aircraft flying overhead would spot them and come to their rescue. One of the soldiers was then hit by a bullet and fell down as another rushed to him and dragged him back to the cover of the SUV.

The video also showed the bodies of the U.S. soldiers.

The four killed in the attack were identified as Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, 35; Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, 39; Sergeant La David Johnson, 25 and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, 29. This was the first instance wherein U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in Niger.

Amid a military investigation into the deadly ambush, the Pentagon has not yet released the full details about the ambush and the nature of the mission the U.S. was carrying out in the African nation.

Following the incident last year, President Donald Trump faced flak after the widow of one of the soldiers alleged he told her that her husband "knew what he signed up for.” Myeshia Johnson, wife of Sgt La David Johnson, added the president couldn’t even remember her husband’s name when he made a phone call to her to offer condolences. Trump, however, denied this, BBC reported.

Sgt La David Johnson went missing during the ambush and his body was found two days later.

In order to boost counterterrorism activities in African nations, the U.S. has stationed 800 military personnel in Niger. The soldiers offer support and also train the local forces to fight terror outfits.