New details have emerged about the deadly ambush of the US Special Forces unit in Niger. According to an article by ABC News, Sgt. La David Johnson fought bravely alongside his fellow countrymen. A survivor of the attack and a senior U.S. Intelligence official gave his account of the tragic incident that claimed the lives of four United States Green Berets.

According to the eyewitness, a reconnaissance mission quickly turned into a kill or capture situation involving Al Qaeda and ISIS operatives.This change of plans meant that the team had to carry out the operation within 24 hours.

The mission itself constituted high risks but the men went on since the scheduled backup did not arrive.

The enemy ambushed them

And while they were greatly outnumbered, the U.S. and Niger troops fought bravely for as long as they could. Sgt. Johnson, in particular, was outstandingly brave; he fought with everything he had, revealed the surviving soldier. He fought the militants with a machine gun from the back of a pick-up truck, then later picked up a sniper rifle and continued to shoot mercilessly at the enemies. And in spite of all the controversy, the survivor wanted the family of Sgt. Johnson to know that he was a genuine war hero.

The incident unfolded on October 3, a team of 12 American soldiers along with 30 Niger fighters set out on the early morning mission.

The destination was Tiloa, which is 85 kilometers north of Niger’s capital Niamey. However, the pre-mission threat assessment had not counted that 50 to 60 enemy fighters would ambush them.

Johnson fearlessly fought the enemies

In fact, they did not expect to come in contact with the ISIS or Al Qaeda militants until the base directed them to capture or kill a known militant operative.

On arrival at the target location, the team, after finding nothing, decided to head back south. The group stopped at a village called Tongo at about 8:30 am. And while in Tonga, the Niger soldiers requested that they get some food to eat. However, when they decided to leave, a village elder tried very hard to stall them.

The Team noticed that two motorcycle riders that were watching them rode quickly away from the village.

The soldier said the unit then realized that something was seriously wrong. The team left the village around noon and had only made it to a few hundred yards before the attack began.

Reportedly, the militants bombarded the soldiers with machine gun fire, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. The surviving soldier said they all fought bravely, but Sargent Johnson’s bravery was way beyond the call of duty. According to the survivor, Johnson attacked the enemies fearlessly, and in the end sacrificed his life to save his brothers.