Al-Shabab claims attack on US military base in Kenya

Nairobi: Somalian terror group Al-Shabab on Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in Kenya that is also used by US military personnel.

“This morning at around 5.30 a.m., an attempt was made to breach security at Manda Air Strip. The attempted breach was successfully repulsed,” the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) said in a statement.

“Four terrorists bodies have so far been found. The airstrip is safe. Arising from the unsuccessful breach a fire broke out affecting some of the fuel tanks located at the airstrip. The fire has been put under control and standard security procedures are now on-going,” the KDF added.

Manda Air Strip is located in Lamu county, bordering Somalia, and used by both Kenyan and US troops, reports Efe news.

The Al Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabab claimed the attack by “an elite group of soldiers” in a statement, which identified the base, Camp Simba, as “one of the many launch pads for the American crusade against Islam in the region”.

It said it had taken “effective control of a part of the base, inflicting severe casualties on both American and Kenyan troops stationed there”.

This would be the second attack the group has committed in Kenya in a matter of days in the same region.

On January 2, an attack on a passenger bus left at least three dead and three wounded.

Al-Shabab had also carried out the the January 15, 2019 terror attack against the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi that killed 21 people.

The group also claimed responsibility for a truck bombing on December 28 in Mogadishu and in which at least 85 people died and more than 140 were injured.