Somali extremist group al-Shabab on Sunday morning attacked the U.S. military base in Kenya’s coastal Lamu county, police and witnesses have confirmed.
The police said the airstrip used by the U.S. marine was destroyed and aircraft were burned.
But the Kenyan military said in a statement that the airstrip was safe after soldiers repelled the attack and killed some attackers.
“There was a lot of gunfire between the militants and soldiers in the military base. Some aircraft and vehicles belonging to the U.S. were burnt,” a police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack in Lamu County, saying their fighters’ “suicide infantry” was involved in the attack.
“Our fighters inflicted severe casualties on both U.S. and Kenyan troops, destroyed U.S. military aircraft and vehicles,” al-Shabab said in a statement.
