(KDRTV) – Al Shabaab terrorists killed three US nationals when they attacked the Camp Simba army base in Manda Bay on Sunday, the US Department of Defense has said.
In a statement issued on Monday morning, the United States said one US service members and two contractors of the United States Army were killed during the early morning attack.
Names of the victims are currently being withheld as part of the next of kin notification procedure. The United States has asked everyone to respect the families of the victims by not revealing their identities during this difficult moment.
The statement further said that two members of the Department of Defense were injured but are currently in a stable condition and being evacuated.
Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-Shabaab who seeks to harm Americans and US interests. We remain committed to preventing al-Shabaab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the US homeland, East African and international partners,” reads part of a statement from the US Africa Command.
US confirms three of its citizens were killed and two injured in Sunday's Al Shabaab attack at a KDF base in Manda Bay, Lamu. pic.twitter.com/OF8GYt144g
— Hussein Mohamed, MBS. (@HusseinMohamedg) January 6, 2020
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has not issued a statement on the number of casualties it suffered, only saying that the attack was repulsed and five terrorists were killed.
“Multi-agency Forces engaged and successfully repulsed an attempted terrorist breach of Manda Air Strip. Following a military operation, 5 bodies of neutralised terrorists were recovered,” reads a statement shared on KDF’s social media handles.
This morning at around 5:30 am an attempt was made to breach security at Manda Air Strip. The attempted breach was successfully repulsed. Four terrorists bodies have so far been found. The airstrip is safe.https://t.co/CXoAWBgXC4
— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) January 5, 2020
Al-Shabab claimed that there were 17 U.S. casualties, nine Kenyan soldiers killed and seven aircraft destroyed. This has been dismissed by both the US and KDF.
Read Also: KDF Stops Camp Simba Attack, Four Al Shabaab Dead
A statement recorded by Kenya Police said two fixed-wing aircraft, a U.S. Cessna and a Kenyan one, were destroyed along with two U.S. helicopters and multiple U.S. vehicles,
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