US Army chiefs audit attack on Lamu ahead of date with Congress

Smoke billows from the Manda-Magogoni naval base in Lamu after an Al-Shabaab attack on Sunday last week. PHOTO | FILE 

By BRIAN NGUGI
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Summary

• US Africa Command’s General Stephen Townsend said last week he had dispatched a team of top US military officials to Lamu to investigate the terrorist attack on the US military base that left one American soldier and two contractors dead.
• The US Army is expected to outline new steps it will take together with its allies like Kenya to contain Al-Shabaab when Mr Townsend testifies later this month before the US Congress about the security situation in Africa.

The United States military has vowed to double down on fighting the Al-Shabaab days after the terrorist group launched an attack on a US base in Kenya.

US Africa Command’s General Stephen Townsend said last week he had dispatched a team of top US military officials to Lamu to investigate the terrorist attack on the US military base that left one American soldier and two contractors dead.

“I want ground truth to assess the situation and hear from the troops to ensure they have what they need to accomplish their mission,” Gen Townsend who heads the unit responsible for US military operations, including fighting regional conflicts and maintaining military relations with 53 African nations said in a statement.

The US Army is expected to outline new steps it will take together with its allies like Kenya to contain Al-Shabaab when Mr Townsend testifies later this month before the US Congress about the security situation in Africa.

He is expected to face tough questions about the Kenya battle.

The attack by the al-Qaida-affiliated Al-Shabaab at the heavily guarded Camp Simba on Manda Bay in Lamu last Sunday, which serves both US and Kenya military soldiers, quickly drew fresh attention on the potent threat posed by the Al-Shabaab.

Gen Townsend said the senior US Africa Command officials would conduct investigations into the attack on Camp Simba and the nearby Manda Bay Airfield, which was the scene of last Sunday’s assault by militants.

“Al-Shabaab is ruthless and must be dealt with before the network expands its reach to other places, to include their stated desire to strike US citizens on the US homeland,” Townsend said.

Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, has in recent years suffered deadly gun and bomb attacks from the Al-Shabaab militants who are demanding the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from the Horn of Africa nation.

US Africa Command earlier sent a quick-reaction force from Djibouti to Kenya in the wake of the attack to bolster security.

The US Army officials that Townsend sent to Kenya include Maj Gen Michael Turello, who leads the Djibouti-based Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, and US Africa Command’s head of logistics Leonard Kosinski.

US Africa Command said its acting senior enlisted leader Master Chief Ryan Burton and an investigating officer also were part of the team.

The military site supports US operations in Somalia, where Al-Shabaab fighters have waged an insurgency for more than a decade.

Al-Shabaab has been attacking Somali government and military targets but occasionally launches high-profile assaults in neighbouring states, including Kenya.