US troops killed in Niger identified as decorated Green Berets
Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29. (Department of Defense)
(FOX NEWS) - The three U.S. Army Green Berets killed in Niger earlier this week were identified Friday as decorated soldiers based out of Fort Bragg.
The Army identified the men as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, a Special Forces medical sergeant, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist, and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, an engineer. All three were assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
The body of a fourth soldier was discovered on Friday. The unidentified soldier had initially been reported missing after Wednesday's attack. Authorities feared the soldier was being held hostage by a militant group, but officials told Fox there were no signs the soldier had been kidnapped or tortured.
Black, from Pallyup, Wash., enlisted in the Army in 2009 and has received numerous awards, including the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a statement said.
Johnson, from Springboro, Ohio, joined in 2007 and has earned the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal, among other distinctions. Wright, from Lyons, Ga., enlisted in 2012 and also has won numerous awards, such as the Joint Service Achievement Medal and Special Forces Tab.
Multiple officials familiar with the matter told Fox News on Thursday that there was no U.S. surveillance drone overhead at the time of the ambush.
Fox News learned the dead and injured soldiers were taken from the firefight by French Puma helicopters. Only one U.S. helicopter was available to pick up the Green Berets. It is not clear why it wasn't used.
A senior Marine Corps general declined to comment on the lack of air cover at a Pentagon news conference Thursday.
"We are not prepared to go into details right now," said Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Pentagon has built two drone bases inside Niger, but the local government doesn't allow armed drone flights to protect U.S. troops, despite repeated requests from the U.S. military.
Ten Green Berets were part of a routine joint patrol accompanying Nigerien forces when they were attacked 120 miles north of the West African country's capital, Niamey, near the border with Mali.
Two wounded Special Forces soldiers were flown to a military hospital in Germany where they are expected to recover.
The terror group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb, or AQIM, is suspected of carrying out the deadly attack. The U.S. military has been training local forces to fight AQIM and other militants in West Africa for over a decade.