Al Shabaab attacks US military base in Kenyan coastal county

Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab on Sunday at dawn attacked a military base at Camp Simba on Kenya's Lamu Island that hosts American and Kenyan forces.

In a statement shared online, the terror group claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had launched a daring dawn raid on the US naval base that hosts hundreds of US military personnel and Kenyan soldiers.

The statement said the base serves as one of the many launch pads for the American crusade against Islam in the region.

Paul Njuguna, spokesman for Kenya Defense Forces, confirmed the attack was successfully repulsed. He added that four suspected Al Shabaab militants were killed.

Njuguna said the attack took place at about 5 am, terming it as a security breach at Manda Air Strip. He did not indicate whether there were any casualties among Kenyan or American forces.

"Arising from the unsuccessful breach a fire broke out affecting some of the fuel tanks located at the airstrip. The fire has been put under control and standard security procedures are now ongoing," he said.

Al Shabaab, which is linked to Al Qaeda, is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization that has killed many people through attacks in Somalia, where it seeks to overthrow the government. It also has launched several attacks in Kenya in retaliation for troops sent by the country into Somalia in 2011 to fight the group.