On October 4, 2017, militants ambushed a group of soldiers at Tongo Tongo, some 20 kilometres from the Mali border, killing 9 of them, including 4 Americans and 5 Nigerians.
At the time of the attack, ISIS in the Greater Sahara claimed credit.
The five million dollar prize will be awarded for “obtaining evidence leading to the conviction of those responsible for the Tongo Tongo ambush,” according to a statement from the US embassy in Niamey on the eve of the attack’s fifth anniversary.
In Niamey and the Tillaberi region (west), where the ambush occurred, posters will be put up.
One of the posters features images of 8 “ISIS” members in the Greater Sahara, including the late organization’s head, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, whose photo has been crossed out in red and inscribed with the phrase “An adversary died in the field.”
Paris reported the death of the Sahrawi in August 2021, dealing a setback to French forces in Mali.
Without giving their names or the location of their trials, a source at the US embassy informed AFP that “3 of the terrorists engaged in the Tongo Tongo incident were apprehended and tried.”
The Niger army claims that Tongo Tongo, which is about 100 kilometres from Niamey, was the destination of the terrorists who arrived on roughly 10 trucks and 20 motorcycles, as previously reported by Niamey and Washington.
According to a security source in Nigeria, the Tongo Tongo village leader was detained following the assault on suspicion of conspiring with the assailants.
$5 million for attack-related information five years ago
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