A local official and an analyst say residents of the Niger village where four Green Beret soldiers were killed this month may have delayed the soldiers while an ambush was set up and helped to lead the victims into a deadly trap.
“The attackers, the bandits, the terrorists have never lacked accomplices among local populations,” admitted Almou Hassane, a local official where the attack took place, in what is believed to be his first interview with a Western news organization.
The village chief has been arrested since the attack, Hassane said, lending credibility to the suspicion of local involvement. He is in government custody according to several officials.
Speaking by telephone to VOA, Almou Hassane said the dead Americans were part of a patrol made up of eight U.S. Green Berets and about 20 Nigerien special forces, which arrived in pickup trucks at the village near the Mali border the evening before the attack.
一位尼日尔地方官员和一位分析人士说，四名美国陆军特种兵这个月在尼日尔一座村庄被打死的地方，当地村民可能故意拖住这些军人，以便能有足够的时间安排好伏击，并帮助将美国军人引入伏击地点。
伏击发生地点的地方官员哈桑尼在据信他第一次接受西方媒体的采访中说：“攻击者、土匪和恐怖分子在当地居民中有不少同谋。“
哈桑尼说，伏击发生后，村长已经被逮捕。这增加了当地人卷入伏击的可信度。几位地方官员说，村长目前被政府拘押。
哈桑尼对美国之音说，丧生的四名美军是尼日尔和美国联合巡逻队的成员。巡逻队总共有8名美国特种兵和大约20名尼日尔特种兵。