[ad_1]
(KDRTV) – Al Shabaab terrorists who attacked the Camp Simba Military base in Manda Bay early this month could have had help from Kenyan soldiers, The New York Times has claimed.
Though the giant American based newspaper did not directly mention this claim, it said the attack had striking similarities with another one that American troops suffered in Afghanistan in 2019.
“The battle bore striking similarity to an attack in Afghanistan in March 2019 when Taliban fighters managed to slip onto a sprawling base in southern Helmand Province with help from Afghan troops, and quickly threatened a small American Marine base inside the perimeter of the larger Afghan facility,” the newspaper said in a story published on Wednesday.
It further accused Kenyan soldiers of hiding in the grass during the attack, leaving the Americans at the facility exposed.
Three American nationals died in the January 5 attack with three more injured. Six American planes were also destroyed.
“Many of the local Kenyan forces, assigned to defend the base, hid in the grass while other American troops and support staff were corralled into tents, with little protection, to wait out the battle,” the article titled: Hiding in the Grass further said.
Americans believe the attack could have been avoided if the perimeter wall was manned by trained US forces.
The story, which is bound to elicit sharp reactions from Kenyans claimed that America did not have enough manpower to secure the perimeter fence and therefore had to depend on local soldiers who are “typically not as capable as U.S. forces.”
The paper still claimed that Kenyan soldiers “are easier for terrorist groups to infiltrate.”
America is also said to have been disappointed with the conduct of the Kenyan Military after the Attack.
KDF announced that they had captured six Al Shabaab terrorists hours after the attack.
But the New York Times has now revealed that the six were just by standers who were released.
[ad_2]
Source link
