Georgia soldier among 4 killed in ambush in Niger

Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright

ATLANTA – A Georgia soldier was one of four U.S. troops killed in an ambush in Niger, the Department of Defense said Friday.

The agency said in a news release that 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright of Lyons died Wednesday in the attack.

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Wright's father, Arnold, said his son grew up playing sports with his three brothers and liked to joke around. He followed both his parents and one of his brothers into the Army.

Wright was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

His brother, Will, who also served, described his younger brother as "an amazing special forces soldier and an amazing friend." Will Wright said the two were just 13 months apart, were very close and shared a special bond over their military service.

“I can’t imagine life without him. We’ll get there and I know that he wouldn’t want me to be upset, he’d probably laugh at me but he’s just been around so long and so many of our family members have been talking and saying he’s such a sweet kid. So many people say, ‘He’s such a sweetheart.’ Somebody even said ‘If God ever made a sweetheart it was Dustin Wright,” said Wright’s cousin, Becky Christian, told Savannah station WJLC.