US Army
Nigerien service members react to contact during an exercise in Diffa, Niger, March 3, 2017.
- Images that appeared on Twitter reportedly show a dead US service member targeted in a deadly ambush in Niger.
- The Twitter account that posted the images said they were obtained from an ISIS affiliate.
- The US military is launching an investigation into the images.
The US military is investigating a set of images that claim to show a dead service member targeted in an October ambush that killed four soldiers in Tongo Tongo, Niger.
The images, which surfaced on Twitter, were followed up with two posts of the alleged incident that appeared to be composed from video footage from a helmet camera, according to the Military Times.
The Twitter user who posted the images claimed that he received the footage of the ambush from an ISIS-affiliated group operating out of Mali, which borders Niger.
"The video shows one side of the attack, the American dead, some photos were shot by an American soldier, but ISIS took them after the photographer was killed," the Twitter user wrote, according to the Military Times.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement that it was "reviewing the post and determining the veracity of the tweet and the assertions that there is an associated video."
In addition to that inquiry, AFRICOM is currently investigating the ambush that led to the deaths of 3rd Special Forces Group soldiers - Staff Sgts. Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Dustin Wright; and Sgt. La David Johnson. The soldiers were reportedly engaged in a joint mission with Nigerien forces when they were attacked.