Three Green Berets were killed and two were wounded on Wednesday in an ambush in Niger near the Mali border.
BREAKING NEWS: 3 Green Berets killed, 2 wounded in Niger ambush - Fox News
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Officials think that militants affiliated with the group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were behind the attack. This group is al-Qaeda's affiliate that originated in Algeria.
Officials say the Green Berets were likely attacked by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb militants. https://t.co/7CaFI4YTcV
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The troops came under fire during a patrol with African troops they were training.
“We can confirm reports that a joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger,” Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Falvo, a spokesman for the United States Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said in an email on Wednesday.
These are the first casualties in the Special Forces' mission to assist Nigerien troops.
The identity of the troops has not yet been released.
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