While the Nigeriens insist it was “kill or capture” from the start, two U.S. intelligence sources told ABC News the team was first asked to meet local leaders and were only assigned the “Naylor Road” mission on their way back to base.

Either way, the team proceeded in search of the target’s campsite in an overnight raid. The change in plan meant the team was out for over 24 hours, potentially putting them at greater risk.

“They should have been up and back in a day,” a senior U.S. intelligence official told ABC News. “But they were up there so long on a mission that morphed, they were spotted, surveilled and ultimately hit.”