The four Army soldiers killed in the African nation of Niger last year are eligible for imminent danger pay, the Pentagon ruled this week.
NBC News cited a Pentagon memo that concluded the families of the soldiers killed, along with the hundreds of other troops serving in Niger, Mali, and areas within Cameroon, will receive back pay to the tune of $225 extra per month for being stationed in hostile fire locations.
Imminent danger pay, according to NBC, is included in soldiers' salaries if they are serving in an area where the potential for hostile fire and/or mine explosions exists.
Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, who leads U.S. Africa Command, told the House Armed Services Committee this week a request was made last year to provide Imminent Danger Pay to soldiers serving in the region.
"We submitted that with Niger and other countries in the area where it is dangerous several months ago to [the Office of the Secretary of Defense]," Waldhauser said, NBC noted.
It was reported last month that the four soldiers killed in the Niger attack — Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and Sgt. La David Johnson — were not receiving danger pay while operating there. An affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group claimed responsibility for ambushing a group of soldiers in October, which resulted in the soldiers' deaths.
A report released this week about the incident indicated the soldiers were hunting for an ISIS militant suspected of playing a role in kidnapping an American aid worker. High-level commanders were under the impression that the special forces team was planning to meet local Nigerian leaders, not search for militant Doundou Chefou.
That prevented commanders from assessing the mission's risk, according to the report.
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