This archive report was first published on 6 January 2020.
On Sunday, January 5, 2020, a group of armed al-Shabaab militants launched a daring raid on the Manda-Magogoni Naval Base in Lamu, Kenya.
The attack, which lasted for almost five hours, saw the militants cut power supply in Hindi before gaining access to the base.
According to sources, the militants damaged some equipment at the facility, including aircraft that were not in use.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) responded to the attack, and a fire that broke out during the raid also affected some of the fuel tanks located at the airstrip.
Colonel Paul Njuguna, the KDF spokesman, said that five bodies of the al-Shabaab militants were recovered after the raid, which he termed a failed attempt to breach security at the airstrip.
He added that there were no casualties or injuries of Kenyan soldiers and that the airstrip was safe.
"The attempted breach was successfully repulsed. Five terrorists' bodies have so far been found. The airstrip is safe," Colonel Njuguna said.
The US-Africa Command Centre confirmed the attack, adding that it was "monitoring the situation and would provide an update, as facts and details emerge".
US Army Maj-Gen William Gayler, the US-Africa Command director of operations, described al-Shabaab as a "brutal terrorist organisation" that is seeking to establish a self-governed Islamic territory in East Africa.
Security sources indicated that the al-Shabaab attack targeted Manda-Magogoni Naval Base and the US military base dubbed Simba -- both located on Manda Bay Island.
Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia told the Nation that enough security officers, mostly the Kenya Navy within the camp and soldiers from other KDF units, had been deployed to pursue the attackers.
By 11 am Sunday, Mr Macharia had confirmed the arrest of five individuals "linked to the attack", without providing details.
