As expected, they did not encounter any enemy forces at the site, which had been under surveillance for at least five to six hours, and left the location. The team leader also met for several hours with local village leaders. However, the team leader soon realized that the enemy force was much larger than anticipated and he ordered his troops to withdraw to the south. He and the Nigerien soldiers escaped on foot. The two Nigerien soldiers were killed and Johnson ran some 950 meters, taking cover behind a single tree.

Source: CNN May 10, 2018 16:03 UTC