A US soldier and two employees of a US military service provider were killed in an attack by jihadist fighters in Kenya. In addition, two US soldiers were injured in the attack on the airfield, which is also used by the US military as a base, as the US military command center responsible for Africa operations (Africom) said. The terrorist militia Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on Manda Bay airfield near the Kenyan island of Lamu.
The US military will hold the Somali terror group responsible for the attack accountable, Africom general Stephen Townsend said. The United States would continue to ensure that Al-Shabaab had no retreat in East Africa to plan attacks, he said. The US military repeatedly airstrikes Al Shabaab in Somalia.
The terrorist militia said a "squad of elite soldiers" from the "Martyrs Brigade" attacked a base of the "American Crusade Against Islam". She published a photo of a burning small plane; fuel tanks also caught fire. The Kenyan army said on Twitter that an attempt had been made in the morning to penetrate the civilian part of Manda Bay airfield on the Indian Ocean. The attack was repelled. "So far, four bodies of terrorists have been found. The airfield is safe," it said.
US troops train soldiers from African partners on site
The U.S. military said the extremists' attack was repulsed jointly by Kenyan and U.S. soldiers. Six civilian aircraft operated by service providers were partially damaged, Africom said. The US troops that used the base trained soldiers from African partners, responded to crises and protected US interests in the region, it was said. US soldiers in East Africa "are maintaining the critical pressure on terrorist networks," General Townsend said.
The attack is a serious incident for the US armed forces in Africa; US soldiers rarely die there in combat operations. At the end of 2017, four US soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack in Niger, near Tongo Tongo. This was followed by months of investigations into how the incident could have happened. The US military then changed certain rules of engagement.
In Somalia, the Sunni fundamentalists of Al-Shabaab have been fighting for supremacy in the country in the Horn of Africa for years. They carry out attacks and attacks again and again. The Kenyan armed forces have supported the fight against Al-Shabaab there since 2011. Since then there have been repeated attacks in neighboring Kenya. In early 2019, al-Shabaab fighters attacked a hotel complex in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and killed more than 20 people. The group also recruits fighters in Kenya, especially along the Indian Ocean coast.