The U.S. soldier who was killed in a terror attack at a military base in Kenya has been identified as 23-year-old Henry Mayfield Jr.
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed that one American soldier and two Department of Defense (DOD) contractors were killed in the attack on Sunday. Two other Pentagon workers were injured in the assault, which Africa Command said was orchestrated by al-Shabaab.
"He loved his family and spending quality time with his siblings," Carmoneta, Mayfield’s mother, said in an email to the outlet. "I last spoke with him New Year’s Day via FaceTime. We discussed him not having to go to Somalia, and he told me everything was good and safe at his base.
"He told me everything would be okay. Those were his last words to me," she added.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” said U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, the chief of Africa Command. “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.”
Reports suggested there was also damage done to infrastructure and equipment.
The Manda Bay base is an area where American forces provide training and counter-terrorism support for its East African partners.
The base attack follows a truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Dec. 28 that left at least 80 people dead. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing.