Two villagers in Niger who live near the site where four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush earlier this fall report that the body of Army Sgt. La David Johnson was discovered bound and with a head wound, suggesting he was captured and executed by militants, The Washington Post reported Friday evening.
Johnson was separated from the rest of the troops who were attacked, and his body was missing for several days. It was eventually discovered by children who fetched the adults from their village who spoke with the Post. "The back of his head was a mess, as if they had hit him with something hard, like a hammer," said Mounkaila Alassane, the village chief, who saw the body. "They took his shoes. He was wearing only socks."
Johnson's death has been marked by controversy over why U.S. troops are in Niger, whether their mission received adequate support, and whether President Trump made an appropriate condolence call to Johnson's widow.