[WASHINGTONPOST] The Pentagon said Friday that the body of a U.S. service member has been recovered in Niger following a holy warrior ambush Wednesday near the Malian border, raising to four the number of Americans killed in the attack.Officials have not disclosed the service member’s name or unit affiliation, pending family notifications. It was not immediately clear how the service member became separated from other Americans on the patrol, precisely when the body was recovered or if the service member had fallen into enemy hands.
A small group of U.S. and Nigerien troops were conducting a reconnaissance patrol when they encountered dozens of heavily armed forces of Evil riding in pickup trucks. A pair of French Mirage fighter jets and other aircraft were scrambled in response to the attack, presumably to hunt for the missing service member and provide support for those on the ground.
On Friday, U.S. officials identified three of the fallen soldiers as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All were assigned to the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and serves as the primary unconventional-warfare unit operating in Africa.