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Agence France-Presse

Jihadists from Somalia’s al-Shabab group on Sunday stormed a military base used by US forces in Kenya’s coastal Lamu region, killing three people and destroying several aircraft and military vehicles, officials said.
Attackers breached heavy security at Camp Simba at dawn but were pushed back and four jihadists killed, said army spokesman Colonel Paul Njuguna.
The American military, however, said three people died in the attack including a US service member and two civilian defence contractors.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” General Stephen Townsend, the head of US Africa Command (Africom), said in a statement.
Two other US Department of Defence personnel were wounded, the statement added, without giving further details.

Al-Shabab has launched regular cross-border raids since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011 as part of an African Union force protecting the internationally backed government – which the jihadists have been trying to overthrow for more than a decade.
The Lamu region, which includes popular tourist beach destination Lamu Island, lies close to the Somali frontier and has suffered frequent attacks, often carried out with roadside bombs.
Njuguna said “an attempt was made to breach security at Manda Air Strip” at 5.30am but it was repulsed.
“Four terrorists’ bodies have so far been found. The airstrip is safe,” he said, adding that a fire had broken out but had since been dealt with.
Kenya’s Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai said officers were “on high alert” after the attack.
Aircraft destroyed as Islamist fighters attack US-Kenya military base
An internal police report seen by AFP said two Cessna aircraft, two American helicopters and “multiple American vehicles” were destroyed at the airstrip.
Local government official Irungu Macharia said five people had been arrested near the camp and were being interrogated.
Shabaab claimed to have killed 17 Americans and nine Kenyan soldiers after the attack.
The nearby civilian airport at Manda Bay, which brings tourists visiting Lamu Island – a Unesco World Heritage Site – was closed for several hours after the incident, according to the civil aviation authority.

Al-Shabab said in a statement it had “successfully stormed the heavily fortified military base and have now taken effective control of part of the base”.
AFRICOM accused al-Shabab of lying to create false headlines.
Shabaab countered with a second statement, saying it had been a 10-hour firefight and mocking the US “inability to fend off an attack by just a handful of steadfast Muslim men”.
The group referred to an uptick in US military air strikes under President Donald Trump, accusing the US of “strafing villages from above and indiscriminately bombarding innocent women and children.”
AFRICOM said in April it had killed more than 800 people in 110 strikes in Somalia since April 2017.
The Somali jihadists have staged several large-scale attacks inside Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia as well as to target foreign interests.
The group has been fighting to overthrow an internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2006, staging regular attacks on government buildings, hotels, security checkpoints and military bases in the country
Despite years of costly efforts to fight al-Shabab, the group on December 28 managed to detonate a vehicle packed with explosives in Mogadishu, killing 81 people.
The spate of attacks highlights the group’s resilience and capacity to inflict mass casualties at home and in the region, despite losing control of major urban areas in Somalia.
In a November report, a UN panel of experts on Somalia noted an “unprecedented number” of home-made bombs and other attacks across the Kenya-Somalia border in June and July last year.
On Thursday, at least three people were killed when suspected al-Shabab gunmen ambushed a bus travelling in the area.
According to the Institute for Security Studies, the United States has 34 known military bases in Africa, from where it conducts “drone operations, training, military exercises, direct action and humanitarian activities”.


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Al-Shabab jihadists kill three in attack on US military base in Kenya

A US Air Force Staff Sgt salutes the flag during a ceremony signifying the change from tactical to enduring operations at Camp Simba, Manda Bay, Kenya. Photo: US Air Force via AP

An image distributed by al Shabaab after the attack on a military base in Kenya shows a Somalia's al Shabaab militant holding the group's flag next to a burning aircraft, said to be at the Manda Bay Airfield in Manda, Lamu, Kenya January 5, 2020. Al-Shabaab/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE.

(200105) -- NAIROBI, Jan. 5, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Smoke rises from a U.S. millitary base in Lamu County, Kenya, Jan. 5, 2020. The Somali extremist group al-Shabab said it has attacked the U.S. military base in Kenya's coastal Lamu County on Sunday morning. The police said the airstrip used by the U.S. marine was destroyed and aircraft were burned. (Xinhua)

Aircraft destroyed as al-Shabab fighters launch surprise attack on US-Kenya military base

Al-Shabab’s media wing published pictures of aircraft in flames after launching the attack. Photo: Twitter

In this photo taken Aug. 26, 2019 and released by the U.S. Air Force, A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules approaches for landing at Camp Simba, Manda Bay, Kenya. The al-Shabab extremist group said Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020 that it has attacked the Camp Simba military base used by U.S. and Kenyan troops in coastal Kenya, while Kenya's military says the attempted pre-dawn breach was repulsed and at least four attackers were killed. (Staff Sgt. Devin Boyer/U.S. Air Force via AP)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 file photo, hundreds of newly trained al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises in the Lafofe area some 18 km south of Mogadishu, in Somalia. The U.S. military said Friday, May 5, 2017 that a service member has been killed in Somalia during an operation against the extremist group al-Shabab as the United States steps up its fight against the al-Qaida-linked organization. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

US airmen from the 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron conduct a flag-raising ceremony. File photo: AP

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Al-Shabab has launched regular cross-border raids since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011



Al-Shabab has launched regular cross-border raids since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011.


Al-Shabab jihadists kill three in attack on US military base in Kenya

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Al-Shabab has launched regular cross-border raids since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011

Al-Shabab has launched regular cross-border raids since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011