On Sunday, an Islamic terror attack by Al-Shabaab on a military base in Kenya where U.S. troops were stationed resulted in the deaths of three Americans.
The attack on the military base in the early morning hours on Sunday comes as U.S. forces are on alert across the world for potential terrorist attacks after the U.S. military killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, which is a designated terrorist organization.
The United States Africa Command said in statement:
During an attack by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida group in East Africa, earlier today, one (1) U.S. service member and two (2) Department of Defense contractors were killed at a Kenya Defense Force Military Base in Manda Bay, Kenya.
In addition, two (2) Department of Defense members were wounded. The wounded Americans are currently in stable condition and being evacuated. …
The attack on the compound today involved indirect and small arms fire. After an initial penetration of the perimeter, Kenya Defense Forces and U.S. Africa Command repelled the al-Shabaab attack. Reports indicate that six contractor-operated civilian aircraft were damaged to some degree. Manda Bay Airfield is utilized by U.S. forces whose missions include providing training to our African partners, responding to crises, and protecting U.S. interests in this strategically important area.
U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, Commander, U.S. Africa Command, said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today. 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.”
“The work that our U.S. forces are doing in East Africa bolsters partnerships, counters malign influence, and maintains critical pressure on terrorist networks,” Townsend continued. “Our efforts directly contribute to counterterrorism, maritime surveillance, and intelligence sharing missions with our Kenyan partners. This activity enables enhanced security and stability in the region and for America.”
The statement from the U.S. Military out of Africa comes as U.S. personnel in Iraq reportedly came under fire on Sunday at the U.S. Embassy.
“Three rockets landed inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, home to the US Embassy and the seat of Iraq’s government, city residents said on Sunday,” The Times of Israel reported. “Police sources told Reuters that the projectiles were Katyusha rockets. Witnesses told AFP they saw two rockets hit near the US embassy.”
The attacks come after Iran has vowed to take revenge against the United States for killing Soleimani by striking targets within its reach throughout the Middle East.
U.S. forces killed Soleimani after he conducted a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad last week.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran over the weekend that there will be severe consequences if they try to enact revenge as the U.S. military is prepared to strike numerous Iranian targets.
Trump tweeted, “Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters.”
“He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years,” Trump continued. “Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”