UTV|KENYA) – The Islamist militant group al-Shabab has attacked a naval base used by Kenyan and US forces in the popular Kenyan coastal region of Lamu.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing plumes of black smoke emerge from Camp Simba at an airfield on Manda Island.
Kenya’s military said troops had driven out the insurgents from the base.
Al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaeda and has its headquarters in neighbouring Somalia.
On 28 December, about 80 people were killed in a bombing in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
What happened at Camp Simba?
The Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) said “an attempt was made to breach security at Manda Air Strip” but the attack was repulsed.
Four militants were killed, it added.
A fire caused by the attack had been extinguished and the airstrip was now safe, a KDF spokesman said.