"It does not enhance the privacy protections of American citizens, and it surely undermines American security by taking one more tool from our war fighters, in my view, at exactly the wrong time".
The air strike on Tuesday came while Niger is involved in a regional offensive against Boko Haram fighters, who have waged a six-year insurgency that has killed more than 13,000 people.
Indeed, it has resulted in bloodshed on a number of occasions so far, most notably in Mariupol last Friday, when at least eight people died when the national guard entered the city to clear the police station of separatist fighters.
With military operations inside Ukraine's borders an unappealing prospect for many of the country's professional soldiers, irregular units are springing up as Kiev struggles to wrest back control of Donetsk and Luhansk regions from the grip of pro-Russia fighters.
In addition, the government is looking at what British gear, such as night-vision goggles and body armour, it could send directly to the country to boost the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
Saleh said there were currently major concerns in the opposition about the battle for control of the central city of Homs, but he claimed rebel fighters were still managing to push back Assad's forces in the city.
A vigilante leader in Borno, Danlami Ajaokuta, whose civilian fighters have been working with the military in the region to fight Boko Haram, said security forces had ordered the closure of all businesses in the city given the apparently coordinated nature of the bombings and the fear there could be more.
The group also wants to help other families struggling to bring their children home, and highlight the need for politicians and security officials to take the parents of foreign fighters seriously.
On Friday peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) seized two nearby oilfields, Kirkuk and Bai Hassan, turfing out Arab workers and replacing them with their own staff.
For months the US airforce and RAF planes have been heavily involved in air strikes and reconnaissance missions across Iraq that are credited with helping slow the advance of Isis fighters and have now paved the way for ground operations.
After a few days (or even a few hours) of rest, fighters on both sides may feel like going at it again.
