Tongo Tongo, Niger (CNN) The convoy's progress is painstaking, the tracks it follows barely defined, at times though open terrain, at times through the thick wooded areas that worry the soldiers most. It makes ideal cover for an ambush, so they dismount and advance on foot before calling their vehicles forward.

We bump our way past villagers on donkeys, herds of camels and goats, and long stretches where there is no one in sight. There is a harsh and rugged beauty to the landscape in this volatile region of the Sahel, where outside of the major cities, people survive largely on what nature provides.

Bonds here are strongest along tribal and familial lines, and the reach of the capital governments in Niamey and Bamako can't possibly extend far enough to control all of this vast territory.

The October 4th attack that killed four American soldiers , their translator and four Nigeriens has thrown this remote porous border region between Mali and Niger into the global spotlight, but for the Nigerien soldiers, the fight out here has been ongoing for years. They come under attack on a regular basis, and tell us that over the last two years the main threat has morphed from banditry to terrorism.

We headed out looking for answers to the many questions that continue to churn around the attack near the village of Tongo Tongo. It's here that the US military said the convoy stopped to replenish supplies and was then held up by elders.

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