US offers reward for ISIS leader linked to Niger ambush

Four US soldiers were killed in the 2017 attack, along with four Nigerien troops

US special forces soldiers attend the funeral of one of those killed in the 2017 ambush. AFP

The United States on Friday offered a $5 million (Dh 18.3 million) reward for information about the leader of an Islamic State branch which claimed responsibility for an ambush in Niger two years ago that left four US servicemen dead.

Adnan Abu Walid Al Sahrawi, leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, is wanted in connection with the October 4, 2017 attack on a joint US-Nigerien patrol near the village of Tongo Tongo.

Four Nigerien troops were killed in the ambush along with four members of the US special forces.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice Program is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the identification or location of Abu Walid, a State Department official said.

"(Abu Walid) has a long, long history of belonging to terrorist organisations including Al Qaeda," the official told AFP.

A second reward of up to $5 million is being offered for "information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the commission of the 2017 ambush in Niger."

No arrests have been made in connection with the deadly ambush so far.

"We hope to generate leads or information that would lead the US government or the Nigerien government to investigate and find the perpetrators of that attack," the official said.