President Trump said Wednesday that he did not specifically authorize the Green Beret-led mission in Niger that left four U.S. soldiers dead earlier this month.
So far, details on what happened during the tragic mission have been thin: Twelve members of a Special Operations Task Force were reportedly traveling back to their base in the capital of Niamey on Oct. 4 when they were ambushed by 50 militants likely belonging to an Islamic State-affiliated group, CNN reports. The U.S. task force requested support, which was slow to arrive. Three soldiers were killed in the attack; the fourth, Army Sgt. La David Johnson, was initially missing. His body was recovered later almost a mile away from the ambush site.
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