Extremists attack U.S. base in Kenya

One U.S. serviceman and two American contractors died in an attack on an airstrip in Kenya early on Sunday morning. The Kenyan military confirmed five of the attackers died in the assault, which damaged several U.S. and Kenyan aircraft and vehicles at the military base known as Camp Simba. The al-Shabaab Islamic terror group claimed responsibility.

What triggered the strike? The attack is the first by the al-Qaeda-linked group on U.S. forces in Kenya and is likely a retaliatory strike. A week ago, the same insurgent group detonated explosives at a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 79 people. The United States responded with airstrikes that killed seven of the group’s fighters.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report in The Sift on the Mogadishu truck explosion in December.