Tongo Tongo ambush

Tongo Tongo ambush
	Part of The War against the Islamic State, Operation Juniper Shield, Operation Barkhane, and the Jihadist insurgency in Niger
	; The ambush captured by Jeremiah Johnson's helmet camera
Date	4 October 2017; 11:40 to 14:58 (local time)
Location	Tongo Tongo, Tillabéri, Niger15°3′11.56″N 1°50′7.85″E
Result	IS victory US congressional inquiry and DoD investigation; Green Beret senior Officers and team leaders disciplined for the outcome of the ambush;
Belligerents
Niger; United States; France	Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
General Thomas D. Waldhauser; Captain Michael Perozeni (WIA); Sgt. First Class Brent Bartels (WIA)	Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi; Doundou Chefou; Tinka ag Almouner †; Al Mahmoud ag Baye †
Units involved
Niger Armed Forces Security and Intelligence Battalion; 433rd Special Interdiction Company; 3rd Special Forces Group Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 3212; France French Air Force; Chimère special operations team, 1st RPIMa;	Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Strength
35 personnel, 5 vehicles; 10 soldiers, 1 intelligence contractor 2 technicals, 1 unarmed Toyota Land Cruiser; Reinforcements:; 53 commandos,; 2 Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jets; 2 Tiger attack helicopters; 2 Super Puma helicopters; 15 aircraft total; 3 ground Quick Reaction Force elements of at least 100 soldiers, 1 helicopter; 2 UAVs	100+ militants, ~12 technicals, ~20 motorcycles
Casualties and losses
9 killed, 10 wounded:; 4 soldiers killed, 1 interpreter killed, 8 wounded; 4 soldiers killed, 2 wounded	At least 21 killed
	Tongo Tongo Location within Niger

The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and US soldiers outside the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, while they were returning to base after a stop in the village. During the ambush, four Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 ISGS militants were killed, and eight Nigeriens and two US soldiers including the team commander were wounded. In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou, a commander in the ISGS.

The ambush sparked political debate over the presence of US forces in Africa and brought attention to previously under-reported US military activities in the region. The ambush also prompted congressional inquiries, and an investigation by the US Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD inquiry, completed in 2018, found that the 11-member US special forces team was not prepared for the mission, and identified other flaws in planning.

The ambush remains the largest loss of American lives in combat in Africa since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.

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