A group of heavily-armed al-Shabaab militants attacked a military base in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three Americans and destroying several planes, U.S. and Kenyan officials said. The attackers were killed after an hours-long gun battle.

The assault began at 5:30 a.m. local time on Sunday when at least 5 militants tried to breach security at Manda Air Strip next to Camp Simba, which is located along the coast in Lamu county, near the border with Somalia. Explosions were heard and residents said gunfire continued for more than 4 hours.

U.S. Africa Command confirmed that three Americans were killed in Sunday’s attack, including 1 U.S. service member and 2 Department of Defense contractors. Two other Americans were injured. Colonel Paul Njuguna, a spokesman for Kenya’s Defense Forces, said 5 attackers were killed.
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