[34][35][36] The ambush created controversy in the public and media with many people asking as to why the US had so many troops across Africa and specifically Niger which at the time had more than 800 US personnel in country.

[15][16][17][18] In the last several decades, the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa has been heavily affected by the rise of Islamic terrorist groups and militias as a result of the region's porous borders, weak central governments, ethnic factionalism, and more recently an influx of arms following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya.

[46] Niger's president, Mahamadou Issoufou, welcomed the deployment citing various threats exploiting local government's inability to extend its control to rural areas.

[47] According to U.S. and Nigerien officials, the deployment of unarmed Predator drones was to provide surveillance capabilities over Mali and Niger.

The following month, the Obama administration deployed a force of about 100 U.S. troops to Niger in order to facilitate the drone operation in Niamey and partner with French intelligence.

On December 6, 2017 two months after the October ambush a joint force of American Green Berets and Nigerien soldiers were attacked by Islamic State – West Africa Province militants in the Chad Lake basin Region.

During the firefight 11 militants died including two wearing suicide vests, one weapons cache was also destroyed during the operation.

[52] On December 9, 2018 a French soldier was killed and a US servicemember was injured in a car accident in northern Niger, near Arlit.

[57][58] In September 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will withdraw all 1,500 troops from Niger by the end of 2023, in the aftermath of the coup in the country.

The base allowed U.S. drones to fly missions over the region and maintained the ability to accommodate large transport aircraft such as the C-17 Globemaster.