The Niger attack that killed four U.S. service members was set up by terrorists, military investigators think, NBC News reported.
A group of American Green Berets and support soldiers had attended a meeting with elders of a village sympathetic with local ISIS affiliates on Oct. 4 when they were ambushed by local militants, resulting in the deaths of four members of the U.S. force.
Since then authorities have struggled to make sense of the incident.
Now three U.S. officials briefed on the matter have revealed to NBC that local militants may have used the meeting to launch an assault.
CNN reported that the U.S. troops were en route back to their operating base after meeting with the Tongo Tongo village elders when they were ambushed by about 50 ISIS fighters.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said on Monday, per CNN, that the U.S. troops requested backup about an hour after a firefight began.
Within minutes of the request remotely piloted aircrafts arrived and an hour later French Mirage jets were dispatched to the scene.
During the attack, U.S. soldier Sgt. La David Johnson was separated from his unit and his body was found nearly a mile away 48 hours later.
This information raised questions.
Two officials have since told ABC News that the incident escalated to a kill-or-capture mission aimed at a high-value target.
An intelligence official said the target had ties with both al Qaeda and ISIS, and was one of the U.S.'s "top three objectives in Niger."
Meanwhile, the mayor of the village, Almou Hassane, said that local residents had delayed the Green Berets while the attackers assembled.
"The attackers, the bandits, the terrorists have never lacked accomplices among local populations," Hassane said, according to NBC.