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, two villagers said, 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 kids notified him.
Boubacar said he went to the location, roughly a mile from the ambush site, and saw Johnson's body lying facedown. The back of Johnson's head had been smashed by something, possibly a bullet, Boubacar said. 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 village chief of Tongo Tongo, Mounkaila Alassane, confirmed the account.
A U.S. military official with knowledge of the investigation into the ambush acknowledged that Johnson's body appeared to have been viciously battered but cautioned against reaching any conclusions.
A Section on 11/11/2017