Sgt LaDavid Johnson, 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.
The villagers' accounts come as the Niger operation is under intense scrutiny in the United States, with lawmakers expressing concern that they have received insufficient or conflicting information about what happened. The Pentagon is conducting an investigation into the attack in Niger, where the U.S. military is helping the Nigerien government confront a threat by militants associated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Boubacar, a resident of Tongo Tongo, said in a phone interview that he informed the village's chief after seeing Johnson's body. "His two arms were tied behind his back," he said. The chief called Nigerien military forces, who dispatched troops to retrieve Johnson's remains.
Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Fla., who was killed on Oct. 4 in Niger. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
Related: [Hours before death in Niger, U.S. soldiers were targeting militants in Mali]
The village chief of Tongo Tongo, Mounkaila Alassane, confirmed the account in a separate phone interview.
"The back of his head was a mess, as if they had hit him with something hard, like a hammer," recalled Alassane, who said he also saw the body. "They took his shoes. He was wearing only socks."
A U.S. military official with knowledge of the investigation into the ambush acknowledged that Johnson's body appeared viciously battered but cautioned against reaching any conclusions until the probe is completed.
"When the Americans received Johnson, his hands were not tied," said the U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
The two Tongo Tongo villagers said they also saw the bodies of the three other American soldiers — Staff Sgts. Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson and Dustin Wright — who U.S. officials say were killed in action. One was slumped inside the team's pickup truck, they said. The bodies of the other two were on the ground, one clutching a walkie-talkie, they said.
They were wearing T-shirts and boxer shorts, the two men said. It was unclear whether the militants had stripped off their uniforms.
The accounts could help explain why it to took two days to find Johnson's body, while the other men's remains were retrieved several hours after the battle. Johnson's widow has said that the U.S. military advised her not to view his corpse, a suggestion often made when remains are badly disfigured.
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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.
It's pretty telling that THIS article gets no comments but the one that claimed that Johnson was a traitor had hundreds.
Perhaps if the article had blamed one political party or another or possibly contained sexual allegations it would have gotten more traction here. I only hope he didn't suffer too much prior to his end.
I didn't see this one until now, but yeah, there was a predictable group of folks chomping at the bit to dishonor a man who died for his country.
Yes it is.
Not all of us camp out here 24/7, this is the first I've seen it as well.
That said I'll say the same thing I did last time, when in doubt honor the dead and have compassion for the families loss.
This changes nothing. We still need to wait for the official report. I don't think a 23 year Nigerian farmer is putting one of those out just yet.
I don't think it has anything to do with not seeing the seed. I think if has to do with avoiding the content.
It is interesting that there is still a military investigation going on while the Washington Post seems to have interviewed villagers and members here are using this ongoing story trying to smear other members. Why is that? Because other members started speculating on what happened? Or maybe too many people have speculated?
Well, if the speculation fits your narrative it is no longer speculation. Such is how these partisan minds work.
Oh so you are more worried about fake news posters on NT being smeared than the dead soldier being smeared. interesting
"fake news" is a subjective term
How about 'truth' and 'fact,' are they subjective terms too?
They certainly are on sites like this. You see BS lies get shit out as the truth or fact all the time in places like this.
Whatever supports the narrative being pushed becomes the truth in following the advice of one of the lefts favorite pinko heros:
"A lie told often enough becomes the truth"
- Vlady Lenin
It is finally time to take extremism, religious and otherwise, seriously?
Extremism is festering in America too. Hiding behind the protections of The First and Second Amendments.
It was a closed casket funeral and the wife was not allowed to view the body. The other 3 Green Berets were found without uniforms.
It does look like their were stripped of their uniforms. and Sgt. Johnson reportedly had no boots.
Yes, we have to wait for the official after action report but it surely seems that Sgt. Johnson died at the hands of ISIS.
Too bad the first article was posted on NT.
And even after he died, the assault on Johnson continued, right here at home, with certain pieces of disgusting human filth trying to call him a traitor for no reason whatsoever.