Kenya | Al-Shabab attacks military base used by US forces

NAIROBI (AP):

Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by US counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, destroying US aircraft and vehicles, Kenyan authorities said. It was the al-Qaida-linked group’s first attack against US forces in the East African country, and the military called the security situation “fluid” several hours after the assault.

It was not yet clear whether any US or Kenyan forces were killed. A US Africa Command statement, issued after al-Shabab released photos of blazing aircraft, said “an accountability of personnel assessment is under way” and the Manda Bay airfield was “still in the process of being fully secured” .

Attackers killed

Kenyan military spokesman Paul Njuguna later said five attackers were dead.

Al-Shabab, based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility. In a statement Sunday evening proclaiming the 10-hour attack over, it asserted that nine Kenyan soldiers had been killed and seven aircraft destroyed. The US statement called the al-Shabab claims exaggerated and said US and Kenyan forces repelled the attack.

A plume of black smoke rose above the airfield Sunday after residents said a car bomb had exploded.

Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia said five suspects were arrested and were being interrogated.

An internal Kenyan police report seen by the AP said two fixed-wing aircraft, a US Cessna and a Kenyan one, were destroyed along with two US helicopters and multiple US vehicles at the Manda Bay military airstrip.

The US military said only that “initial reports reflect damage to infrastructure and equipment”.