According to service records furnished by the Pentagon, the four soldiers killed in Niger had “limited” combat experience — with one serving in Niger as his first-ever overseas deployment.
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The other three had served one deployment each, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reviewed service records for all four. None of them held the Combat Infantry Badge or Combat Action Badge, which recognize service in an active combat zone.
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Pentagon officials are scheduled to brief the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on the fatal attack, according to CBS News.
While on patrol with Nigerian troops towards the end of a 24-hour mission, the troops from the 3rd Special Forces Group-Airborne became the victims of a “complex attack” carried out by a local group affiliated with ISIS. Attackers armed with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades killed the four U.S. soldiers and five Nigerian troops in total, according to KOAT.