In the day preceding the ambush, the Nigerien and US soldiers conducted a mission attempting to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou, a commander in the ISGS.

[25] On 5 February, officials from both Niger and the United States said that the two countries signed a status of forces agreement that allowed the deployment of unarmed surveillance drones.

[25][26] In that month, US President Barack Obama sent 150 military personnel to Niger to set up a surveillance drone operation that would aid France in its counterterrorism efforts in the Northern Mali conflict.

The mission plan was assessed and approved by the AOB Niger and SOCCE commanders and on 3 October at 5:59 am (local time), the team of 11 personnel consisting of eight US Special Forces operators, two support, and an intelligence contractor accompanying 35 Nigerien personnel from the Security and Intelligence Battalion (Bataillon Sécurité et de Renseignement or BSR) and the 433rd Special Interdiction unit, departed toward the vicinity of Tiloa in an eight vehicle convoy.

[37] In a video recorded before the ambush, young men can be seen on motorbikes armed with rifles and machine guns, repeating Islamist slogans, and discussing what they would do in the event they captured soldiers, with one of them saying that they would decapitate them.

Approximately 100 meters (110 yd) outside of the village, armed ISGS militants believed to be led by Doundou Chefou, a lieutenant in the terrorist group given the code name "Naylor Road" by US forces,[43] began their assault against the rear of the convoy.

[48] The team leader observed a larger enemy force moving from his east consisting of armed men on motorcycles and vehicles with mounted machine guns.

Upon realizing Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Wright were missing, Two team members volunteered to head back to the ambush site in an attempt to locate vehicle there.

La David Johnson was unable to enter his vehicle due to concentrated enemy fire and was forced to escape and evade on foot with the two Nigeriens.

Approximately 960 meters (1,050 yd) from the initial ambush site, La David took cover under a dense thorny tree and engaged the encroaching enemy.

Initial reports indicated that La David Johnson may have been captured and executed, but he was found laying on his back with his arms by his sides and had wounds consistent with sporadic fire while he actively engaged the enemy.

They sent final messages to loved ones on personal devices and prepared for the worst, team members would observe Nigerien soldiers on the ground praying.

[64] Black enlisted in the US Army in October 2009 and eventually became a Special Forces medical sergeant (18D), he was subsequently assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd SFG in June 2015 and deployed to Afghanistan for two months in July.

[68] Johnson's family enrolled him in 5000 Role Models, a mentorship program of US Representative Frederica Wilson that prepared African American children for college, vocational school, or the military.

[91] Representative Frederica Wilson, who was present during the call, alleged that Trump told the widow that La David Johnson "knew what he signed up for" and only referred to him as "your guy".

[95] In a United Nations Security Council meeting on 30 October, US ambassador Nikki Haley pledged $60 million towards a new counterterrorism force in West Africa.

[100] After a meeting with Mattis, Graham told reporters that the rules of engagement would be changing and warned that the US should anticipate more military operations in Africa as the war on terrorism continues to morph.

[101] On 26 October, Robert Karem, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Air Force Major General Albert Elton briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee in a closed session.

However, Senator Richard Blumenthal said, "I could not look those families in the eye and say we're doing everything we need to do to provide sufficient intelligence that will enable them to be successful in their missions and avoid the kind of catastrophe that we saw here".

[107] General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided new information about the ambush to the public and said that the operation was initially a reconnaissance mission.

[117] On 18 October, Mark Landler and Yamiche Alcindor, reporters from The New York Times, drew comparisons between the incident with the phone call to La David Johnson's widow and Trump's feud with the parents of another American soldier killed in action, Humayun Khan, during the 2016 US presidential election.

[92] On the same day, three reporters from the Los Angeles Times wrote that his response "illustrated the hazards of his extemporaneous governing style, the disorganization within his White House, and his refusal to back down in the face of criticism".

[118] On 20 October, National Review senior writer David French criticized the comparison between the ambush and the 2012 Benghazi attack and said, "All available evidence suggests that this is a tragedy rather than a scandal".

[122] On 27 October, The New York Times editorial board wrote that "the lack of clarity about the Niger operation is one more reason for Congress to replace the 2001 law authorizing military force against Al Qaeda with legislation to address current threats like the Islamic State, limit American interventions, and ensure regular congressional oversight".

[123] On 10 November, local villagers told The Washington Post that La David Johnson's body was found with his arms tied,[58] but the Associated Press reported on 17 December that there were no indications he was shot at close range, had been bound, or taken prisoner.

Interviewed in a 2020 documentary, United States Army veteran and author Paul Rieckhoff described the significance of the incident:When I watch that video I think of the worst-case scenario.

[131] On 2 November, four senior Nigerien officials told ABC News that the operation was always a kill or capture mission, contradicting the statement made by Dunford on 23 October.

In March 2018, more than five months after the attack, the SUV used by the Americans and the helmet cam footage was discovered by Tuareg Rebels in Mali after clashes with bandits in the border area.

[138] On 19 December 2018, more than a year after the ambush, a sidearm belonging to SSG Jeremiah Johnson was recovered by French forces during an operation in the Mali-Niger border region.

[142] A senior IS-GS commander Abu Huzeifa, on whom the US had placed a $5 million bounty for his role in the ambush, was killed in April 2024 in a joint operation by forces of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.