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AN AMBUSH ON a joint US-Niger patrol has left several soldiers dead, a security official has said, as fears increase that a conflict in neighbouring Mali is spilling over the African nation’s border.
Three American special forces troops were among the dead, according to a New York Times report citing US military officials.
The US Africa command confirmed in a statement that a joint US and Nigerien patrol came under fire in Niger. But it said nothing about casualties, adding officials are working to confirm details of the ambush.
This was the first time that the presence of American soldiers has been confirmed in the area, which has become unstable due to lethal attacks attributed to jihadist groups targeting Niger army positions and refugee camps.
The attack also marks the first known US combat casualties in Niger, where Washington provides training and security assistance.
A local security official told AFP that the attack, which took place in the western Tillaberi region, close to the Mali border, also claimed the lives of several Niger soldiers.
The ambush was “probably a terrorist attack”, the official said.
“We have lost elements. The ambush attack by heavily armed men from Mali targeted a patrol of Nigerian and American soldiers – instructors,” a source in Tillaberi told AFP.
According to Radio France Internationale, the ambush took place after militants from Mali attacked the village of Tongo Tongo in Tillaberi yesterday.
A counter-operation was launched, but the American and Niger soldiers fell into a trap, according to the radio report.
The New York Times said that three US Green Berets were killed in the ambush and two others injured.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters in Washington that US President Donald Trump had been told “about Niger” without giving further information.
In mid-September, Niamey extended a state of emergency in force since March to the zone due to a terrorist threat coming from Mali.
In mid-June, the Nigerian army mounted a new military operation in the Tillaberi region to take on the jihadists.
The United Nations later warned that the conflict in Mali was spilling over to Burkina Faso and Niger, after a significant surge of attacks by extremist groups in border areas.
The UN has 12,500 troops and police serving in the MINUSMA force in Mali, considered the world body’s most dangerous peacekeeping mission.
In 2012, Mali’s north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda who exploited an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising.
While the Islamists were largely ousted by the French-led military operation, attacks have continued on civilians, the Malian army as well as French and UN forces.
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Jaysus Ryanair aren’t too bad really if ya think about it
@Will Oxley: I don’t know. If you offered me a choice between a painful but swift beating and being harangued for three hours about smokeless cigarettes, lottery tickets and the weight of my baggage it would take some thinking about.
@8bitplebian: @8bitplebian: don’t worry, united airlines offer all of these treats too, along with a right good beating.
@8bitplebian: let me know what you decide.
@Bewarethebeardz: Ryanair would only offer the beating if they could find a way to charge for it.
@Brian Farrell: A foot massage and a happy ending please, Brian.
@8bitplebian: don’t worry about my feet, other than that
@Will Oxley:
Big dollar signs floating around
@Brian Farrell: Oh I’m not worried about any part of your anatomy, Brian. Quality over quantity’s my motto. I’ll settle for a backrub with some essential oils.
Taking a buggy off a passenger is standard practice, this is the general public baiting American Airlines, when these staff members probably done nothing wrong.. At least, nothing to merit such a reaction.
@Ben Coughlan: it’s alleged that he used violence (which sounds like mental way to conduct yourself or a poor use of language on the journalists part, aggression maybe?). I doubt the woman burst into tears over nothing and still managed to get the support of other passengers on the plane, but let’s see what the investigation yields.
@Ben Coughlan:
Did u actually see the video? Cabin crew telling a passenger to ‘bring it on’ and u say it is general public baiting of AA. What a tool you are
@Ben Coughlan: interested to see what actually happened. Strollers are not taken on to an aircraft maybe the employee was rough with the woman’s child… it would be interesting to see what the whole story is.
@Ben Coughlan: you’re a plonker Ben. Watch the video again when you sober up
@Ben Coughlan: traveled with a child by yourself have you? He didn’t take it off her calmly the woman is obviously upset and he appears very aggressive to the point that another passenger wants to protect her. That’s alright with you? That’s the way travel should be? Wow.
@Nick Allen:
Did you watch it?
The whole altercation started when a passenger said “Hey bud, you do that to me and I’ll knock you flat” before getting up to square off in the face of the American Airlines staff member.
Of course the staff member should have attempted to defuse the situation rather than further escalating and his grounding is perfectly logical. That said, it was clearly the passenger who instigated it and not the staff member.
@Ben Coughlan: Do you actually believe that the employee did nothing wrong? Is it okay for an employee to act aggressively towards a customer.
@Philip Scanlon: To be fair, we don’t actually know what he did. We know what has been said. It interestingly there is no video of that confrontation available yet. He got all agitated in response to a threat – the passenger making the threat should have been removed from the flight by law enforcement. The staff member will get due process and if it turns out he did what they say he did, he’ll be sacked. Until then, all I see is a man defending himself against a clear threat of violence.
Yes because we all no women only ever cry when a once in a lifetime terrible trauma has occurred.
@Jason Culligan: that would be perfectly fine if it wasn’t the actions of the flight attendant that caused the reaction in the first place. Whatever happened before the camera was switched on left one passenger in tears and another unrelated passenger very, very angry. Everything the flight attendant did on camera looked like somebody that was in a very bad mood coming to work and couldn’t snap out of it
@Dave O Keeffe: If I see an incident between another passenger and a member of staff, no matter how much it agitated me I have no right to interfere and make the situation worse.
I’ve heard rumours of what the flight attendant allegedly did and if true I can understand the woman’s reaction. That doesn’t excuse random passengers from threatening violence and further escalating what is already a tense situation.
@Jason Culligan: the flight attendant as a professional caused the whole situation and according to many sources nearly hit one of her children as well. Jason, yes the guy that got involved was a jerk but are you telling me someone that physically accosts a mother holding her child and ends up accidentally hitting her on the head is in the right?
@Jason Culligan: Sure. Too many people like you I’m afraid.
I’d hope if my missus and baby was being bullied enough to cry on a flight that somebody would help her out if I wasn’t there. And not just sit there looking at their naval and feeling agitated.
The cabin guy was the guy saying bring it on.
Nothing to see here. When was the last time you saw a stroller on board an aircraft? exactly.
This woman has several screw loose. Maybe she got emotionally attached to the stroller or something.
@Fred Jensen: Last time I saw a stroller is when I took one with me on a plane! You can get buggys that fold up and go in overhead bin, so you can wheel your kid up to the gate and immediatl
@John Fahey: …immediately afterwards.
@Fred Jensen: lots of times! The one I work for will take them into the cabin of space permits!
@Fred Jensen: maybe the baby was still in it? So many maybes in the build up to the video… I probably believe the initial eyewitness story where the flight attendant pulled the stroller off the lady before she was ready, and in the process hit it off her head explaining her shock and years. The flight attendant then went into full blame mode, acusing everyone else of being wrong and falling back on antiquated air laws that give trolley dolleys equal authority to the pilot… But hey, what do i know.
@Fred Jensen: Aparently the crew member was being pretty rough about it and ended up banging it off the ladies head so it’s not just a case of her crying over seperation anxiety from an inanimate object.
@Fred Jensen: Pretty lame comment – you don’t know anything about how and why she took the stroller on board. Who are you to say she has several “screws loose”
I hate people like that passenger trying to be the hero if you actually needed one he would be nowhere around
@Gareth: maybe bonnie tyler is making a comeback.
@Gareth: He’s neither the hero we need nor the hero we deserve.
@Gareth: the constant sobbing in the background is the best, it sounds so genuine and heartfelt.
You never get to see what happened before. What happened afterwards is pretty much a non event but it’s a viral event. Either way it doesn’t matter to the rest of the entire world.
@filthypete: To be fair, the passenger that was getting involved was being a donkey but the employee should have had more sense than to rise to it.
fair play to your man for stepping up like that..
@Alan Ball: If he had’ve just called out the employee on being a donkey and shown any concern for the lady rather than being confrontational maybe yeah. But more than anything he was a tool. Only slightly less of a tool than the employee.
@Tony Canning: true…
@Alan Ball:
Fair play to a man for further escalating a tense situation by physically threatening a member of American Airlines staff?
As civilised human beings, we’re supposed to de-escalate tense situations and not throw petrol on the flames to start a physical fight.
Forget about fake news, why is trivial rubbish and social media outrage constantly making international headlines?
@8bitplebian: It’s very simple, let me explain it to you and put you out of any potential misery.
The way websites work (in this instance a news website, but the same principle applies across all platforms) is that if a particular type of topic or story generates (a) clicks and / or (b) comments, said website will continue to run such articles in order to generate increased traffic equaling increased revenue.
So when people take the time out to click on an article, and comment with a complaint, they are directly contributing to the continuation of this cycle.
Oh, and by the way, well done yourself!
@Grainne Abdulaziz: Thank you for that concise and informative overview. Tell me this – how DO Jacobs get the figs in the fig rolls? I imagine it’s some sort of automated process involving overlay with a manner of pastry mixture prior to baking but perhaps you can give me the inside track?
@8bitplebian: That’s a silly question, you know nobody actually knows that!
@Grainne Abdulaziz: and you too
@8bitplebian: https://youtu.be/8VEFOztqwYc There you go horse
@Matty kinevan: Thanks Matty, very informative. I will sleep sounder at night knowing there’s not some sinister secret practice involved.
@8bitplebian: Pretty good eh? I had always assumed that the pastry would be folded around the filling and then put through rollers to conceal the seam. Interesting shit. The journal should do an article on it.
@Bewarethebeardz: And me too? I’m not complaining about it, ho hum!
@8bitplebian: it doesn’t effect me, winge, winge, why don’t you just do news that I like, winge, winge, my toys just fell out of my pram, winge, winge.
@Deborah Behan: I like the cut of your jib, Debs.
She tried hard but won’t get a cash payout. 10/10 for the cry .
@purple rain: he accidentally hit her on the head and nearly hit her kids according to eye witnesses
I tried to sue American Airlines for losing my luggage, I lost my case!!
Manners cost nothing.
That chap has a serious case of small fat man syndrome.
@Gary: tall equals tough, short equals weak. Is that it Gary?
@William Clay: No. Small man syndrome is a saying. I’m 5ft 10 which is by no means tall. Conor McG is 5ft 9 and I doubt anybody would argue with him.
That wailing seems a tad dramatic.
Flew with these last year,they are brutal!
Traveling with a 5 year old,and when we met our connecting flight in Philadelphia,they had him sitting by himself,after an argument they changed it.
Customer service is rubbish!
I travel with a stroller all the time. A stroller must be given to the ground staff before boarding, no strollers inside the cabin. That flight attendant needs anger management, but that crying lady is delusional. You see a white woman crying with a baby and suddenly she is in the right no matter what. I’m more ticked off by seeing that crazy woman crying for what is the rule, specially us who has to suck it up with our own children.
@Juan Venegas:
Crazy woman, passenger with a white knight complex and a staff member who clearly needs anger management courses.
@Juan Venegas: she was hit on the head, that’s why she was crying.
@Dave O Keeffe: From my understanding and the Sky News report on the incident, she was crying in the video for her pram to be returned to her. She was repeatedly saying ‘I want it back’ during the video.
The crying had seemingly little to do with being hit and possibly more to do with separation anxiety.
@Jason Culligan: your understanding and sky news, awesome sources. The guy gets involved because she was hit.
“Hey you stay out of this” *waggles finger… And a new meme is born
This guy provides eyewitness accounts to the whole thing. https://twitter.com/ScottGustin/status/855647782308335616/photo/1
@Brian Ward: if the woman was not allowed to bring the pram on the plane then how on Earth was she able to get it through customs? There are some serious questions here. They let her through with a pram but when she got on the plane it was not allowed? Explain that. So weird.
@Deborah Behan: ‘Customs’ ? It was a domestic flight. I doubt very much ‘Customs’ would have any interest in a baby’s stroller on a domestic flight. In fact I’m confident customs were nowhere to be seen, as their primary function at airports is screening of International arrivals.
@Deborah Behan:
Oh dear!
Deborah you can take a stroller to the plane anywhere. But some airlines don’t allow them in the cabin as they are simply too cumbersome and difficult to stow. Most airlines that don’t allow them in the cabin provide a gate check service meaning it will be returned at the other end
@Tony Stanley: so how was she allowed to bring it in the plane? Very bad processes.
@Deborah Behan: I think that she was allowed to bring it on because they thought that it was a single stroller but when they realized that it was a double (for her twins) and over the weight limit they told her that it would have to be checked at the gate. She objected, a flight attendant got pissed , it escalated and ended up the way it did. Blame all around but more so with the FA not handling the situation better.
She already had a baby seat with her as well as a bag and the stroller didn’t count in that case as carry on. Probably just a case of a tired mother with 2 children getting narky with tired air crew who had probably just finished a long flight whose patience was worn thin. That guy standing up though didn’t help not to mention breaking federal law by threatening the aircrew.
@Deborah Behan:
“if the woman was not allowed to bring the pram on the plane then how on Earth was she able to get it through customs?”
I read a story the other day about an off-duty police officer who accidentally went through Schiphol with their service pistol and didn’t realise until getting to their destination.
You’d be surprised what customs misses.
@Brian Ward: no, apparently she accidentally got hit on the head in the whole debacle and that’s why she was crying
Well done passenger, not enough people standing up ,,,,,,
Probably not enough room
Go to sky news online. Seems to be a more descriptive account of what happened pre boarding.
Sounds like pretend tears there, it’s the US compo culture unfortunately….
Whatever about the pram being taken not to the lady passengers satisfaction, this is just people playing on the Dr Dao issue and looking at any opportunity to milk a situation to their own benefit.The male passenger was reacting to the women’s “upset”, not actually seeing the incident..
The amount of bull stories of hardship coming out in the last week about the “inhumane” treatment of passenger on a multitude of airlines. From Jo Wood booking in last for her flight and being “debooked”. To the couple in the US who were repeatedly trying to pull a crafty free seat upgrade and eventually kicked off the flight..
There wasn’t too many people worried about the baby there and the effect it would have thereafter!!!
I have it on good authority that outright rudeness is to be expected as the standard from cabin crew on internal U.S. flights.
Well done nice to see somebody stand up to ignorance I don’t care what happened the lady is crying with a baby in her arms .
My good God. Listen to that constant sobbing throughout – particularly when the altercation between the 2 guys kicks off.
Surely no matter what happened, that amount of sobbing can’t be justified.
That lady sounds like a real pain in the hole.
Woman had stopped crying while other passengers getting on, when that interfering self righteous butt head got up again and went for the crew member oh oh her attention seeking ghostly wails start again
They’re brothers, why would they fight each other??
@Senan Byrne: We’re fools to make war on our brothers in arms….
Witch hunt.
Next time I’m flying with Connor McGregor
Looking at the body language of the captain at the end, … Turns to go into cockpit, takes two steps, then turns decisively around and follows the attendant out to the door… My bet is that he told him not to bother coming back onto the flight.
have your say