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Tongo Tongo is a village in the rural commune (municipality) of Tondikiwindi, Ouallam Department, Tillabéri Region in southwestern Niger, 174 km north of the nation's capital Niamey and 28 km south of the border with Mali. The village has about 160-170 huts/dwellings, irregularly clustered. There are no roads, only trails that connect to nearby villages such as Siwili, Firo, Sabara Bangou, Sinka Koira, Gollo, Gouré Tonndi, Kokorobé Koukou, and Zerma Daré.
The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and US soldiers outside the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, while they were returning to base after a stop in the village. During the ambush, four Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 ISGS militants were killed, and eight Nigeriens and two US soldiers including the team commander were wounded. In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou, a commander in the ISGS.
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On May 14, 2019, jihadists from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien forces in Baley Beri, Niger, killing twenty-seven Nigerien soldiers.
On December 25, 2019, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) militants attacked Nigerien forces in Sanam, Tillabéri Region, Niger.
On March 12, 2020, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara militants attacked an outpost of the National Guard of Niger in Ayorou, Niger, killing several soldiers. French and Nigerien counterattacks killed dozens of ISGS militants.
On July 31, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin ambushed Nigerien forces near Torodi, Tillabéri Region, Niger, killing 18 Nigerien soldiers.
On February 10, 2023, militants from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara ambushed Nigerien soldiers at Intagamey, Niger, killing at least seventeen people.
References
- ↑ "How a Herdsman Became the Jihadist Who Killed US Soldiers in Niger". VOA. Reuters. 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
- ↑ Yang, Mackenzie (2017-12-11). "December 11, 2017". Time . Vol. 190, no. 24. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
- ↑ Callimachi, Rukmini; Cooper, Helene; Schmitt, Eric; Blinder, Alan; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (2018-02-20). "'An Endless War': Why 4 U.S. Soldiers Died in a Remote African Desert". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
- ↑ "How a Herdsman Became the Jihadist Who Killed US Soldiers in Niger". voanews.com. 12 November 2017.
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