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U.S. service member and 2 contractors killed in terrorist attack on military base in Kenya

2020-01-06 09:05:02       source:CBS News

January 5, 2020


A U.S. service member and two Defense Department contractors were killed Sunday in an attack by an al Qaeda-linked group on a military base in Kenya used by American forces, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed. Witnesses told BBC News they heard gunfire and saw plumes of black smoke emerge from Camp Simba in the Lamu region of Kenya.


The U.S. Africa Command blamed al Shabaab, al Qaeda's outpost in Africa, for the attack. The names of the dead are being withheld pending family notification.


"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today," said U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, in a statement. "As we honor their sacrifice, let's also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al Shabaab who seeks to harm Americans and U.S. interests. We remain committed to preventing al Shabaab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the U.S. homeland, East African, and international partners."


Read more: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/al-shabaab-attack-u-s-service-member-and-2-contractors-killed-in-terrorist-attack-on-camp-simba-in-kenya-2020-01-05/