Former U.S. Commander In Africa: U.S. Troops Have Been Engaged In Firefights In Niger For Years

Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, then-commander of Special Operations Command Africa, greets Chadian personnel participating in the Flintlock 2017 closing ceremony on March 16, 2017 in N'Djamena, Chad. RICHARD BUMGARDNER/U.S. ARMY

Stars and Stripes: Former special ops commander: US troops engaged in Niger firefights for years

STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. forces operating in Niger have been shot at numerous times during the past two years.

They’ve hit a roadside bomb in a remote northern part of the country. And they’ve gone on reconnaissance patrols, where no enemy contact was expected but violence suddenly flared.

“We’ve had guys in firefights there before as a result of our partners getting in firefights. That happens,” said Donald Bolduc, who commanded special operations forces in Africa until June.

Outside the public eye, troops have suffered minor injuries in connection with those incidents, Bolduc said Wednesday in an interview with Stars and Stripes. One soldier died earlier this year in a vehicle rollover not far from where four U.S. soldiers were killed in an Oct. 4 ambush.

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Update: Mission in Niger is one Special Forces have engaged in ‘since JFK’ (Military Times).

WNU Editor: The General is right. Niger has been a hotbed for extremists for a long time .... Islamist Militants Make Inroads In Niger (August 18, 2012). On a side note, this may have had an impact .... Military records reveal U.S. soldiers killed in Niger had limited combat experience (CBS), but we will have to wait until the final report on what happened is released.