iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Additional remains of U.S. soldier Sergeant La David Johnson were found on November 12 at the site in Niger where his body was recovered, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.
Johnson and three other U.S. Army soldiers were killed when their convoy of U.S. and Nigerien forces was ambushed leaving the village of Tongo Tongo on October 4.
Johnson’s family has been notified of the new discovery, the official said.
Last month, Johnson’s widow told ABC News she was prevented from viewing her husband’s remains before he was laid to rest in his home state of Florida on Oct. 21.
“Why couldn’t I see my husband? Every time I asked to see my husband, they wouldn’t let me,” Myeshia Johnson said in an October 23 interview with Good Morning America. “They told me that he’s in a severe wrap – like I won’t be able to see him. I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband.”
She added, “They won’t show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband’s body from head to toe, and they won’t let me see anything. I don’t know what’s in that box. It could be empty for all I know, but I need to see my husband. I haven’t seen him since he came home.”
A joint team of U.S. Africa Command and Niger military investigators visited the site of the ambush on November 12 as part of its investigation, which the U.S. Army expects to conclude in January.
“As part of its mission, the AFRICOM investigation team interviewed local villagers; conducted a physical examination of multiple areas of interest related to the attack; and retraced actions leading up to, during and after this ambush,” U.S. Africa Command said in a press release.
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