NAIROBI, Kenya (Military Times) — A U.S. service member and two Department of Defense contractors died Sunday following an attack from al-Shabab militants in Manda Bay, Kenya, according to U.S. Africa Command. Two other Defense Department members were also injured in the attack, but remain in stable condition.
Kenyan authorities previously said that Somalia’s al-Shabab extremist group attacked a military base used by U.S. and Kenyan troops in coastal Kenya early Sunday. Kenya’s military said the pre-dawn assault was repulsed and at least four attackers were killed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” AFRICOM Commander U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend said in a news release. “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,” Townsend said. “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.”
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