Ongoing Operations after 3 US Army Commandos Killed in Niger Attack

Niger troops patrol near Diffa on June 16, 2016. (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)
Niger troops patrol near Diffa on June 16, 2016. (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)
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Ongoing Operations after 3 US Army Commandos Killed in Niger Attack

Niger troops patrol near Diffa on June 16, 2016. (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)
Niger troops patrol near Diffa on June 16, 2016. (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)

Military operations were underway on Thursday near Niger's border with Mali the day after three US Army special operations commandos were killed and two others were wounded in an ambush on a patrol in southwest Niger.

Nigerien, US and French troops were conducting military operations in the zone on Thursday, a Nigerien security source said without providing additional details.

An official at Mali's defense ministry said military operations were taking place within Niger and that Malian forces had reinforced their checkpoints along the border.

On Wednesday, the two wounded commandos were taken to Niamey, the capital, and are in stable condition, said US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

The officials said the commandos, who were Green Berets, were likely attacked by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants.

In a statement, US Africa Command said the forces were with a joint US and Nigerien patrol north of Niamey, near the Mali border, when they came under hostile fire.

Africa Command said the US forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces in their efforts against violent extremists.

The attack marks the first known US combat casualties in Niger.

According to Radio France Internationale, the ambush took place after militants from Mali attacked the village of Tongo Tongo in Tillaberi on Wednesday. 

A counter-operation was launched, but the American and Niger soldiers fell into a trap, said the radio report. 

The White House said President Donald Trump was notified about the attack Wednesday night as he flew aboard Air Force One from Las Vegas to Washington.

Militant groups form part of a growing regional insurgency in the poor, sparsely populated deserts of West Africa's Sahel.

They have stepped up attacks on UN peacekeepers, Malian soldiers and civilian targets after being driven back in northern Mali by a French-led military intervention in 2013.



Iran Says Fire Contained after Deadly Blast at Key Port

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
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Iran Says Fire Contained after Deadly Blast at Key Port

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)

Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran's main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities said.

The explosion, heard dozens of kilometers (miles) away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday.

At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported.

Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel late Monday that the fire had been "contained" and a clean-up was under way.

State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers.

Iran's ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country's crisis management organization, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday.

However, "the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days", the agency reported.

Iran's customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency.

The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.

Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage.

"The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance," he told state television late Monday.

The port´s customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence".

A committee assigned to investigate the blast cited similar factors as the likely cause.