Multiple US officials told CNN that the French military was leading an investigation to gather intelligence about the perpetrators of the ambush. A spokesperson from the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said on 5 October that French soldiers who were participating in Operation Barkhane and based in Chad were involved in an operation in Niger. On 10 October, CNN reported that a US defense official had shared details of an after action report that consisted of interviews with the survivors of the ambush. A senior congressional aide told NBC News that the ambush was caused by a "massive intelligence failure" with no overhead surveillance of the mission, or a quick reaction force in place to swiftly respond in the event that the mission went wrong.
