尼日爾村民被懷疑故意拖住遭伏擊的美特種兵
A local official and an analyst say residents of the Niger village where four Green Beret soldiers were killed this month may have delayed the soldiers while an ambush was set up and helped to lead the victims into a deadly trap.
“The attackers, the bandits, the terrorists have never lacked accomplices among local populations,” admitted Almou Hassane, a local official where the attack took place, in what is believed to be his first interview with a Western news organization.
The village chief has been arrested since the attack, Hassane said, lending credibility to the suspicion of local involvement. He is in government custody according to several officials.
Speaking by telephone to VOA, Almou Hassane said the dead Americans were part of a patrol made up of eight U.S. Green Berets and about 20 Nigerien special forces, which arrived in pickup trucks at the village near the Mali border the evening before the attack.一位尼日爾地方官員和一位分析人士說，四名美國陸軍特種兵這個月在尼日爾一座村莊被打死的地方，當地村民可能故意拖住這些軍人，以便能有足夠的時間安排好伏擊，並幫助將美國軍人引入伏擊地點。
伏擊發生地點的地方官員哈桑尼在據信他第一次接受西方媒體的採訪中說：“攻擊者、土匪和恐怖分子在當地居民中有不少同謀。“
哈桑尼說，伏擊發生後，村長已經被逮捕。這增加了當地人捲入伏擊的可信度。幾位地方官員說，村長目前被政府拘押。
哈桑尼對美國之音說，喪生的四名美軍是尼日爾和美國聯合巡邏隊的成員。巡邏隊總共有8名美國特種兵和大約20名尼日爾特種兵。
