US offers USD10mn reward for information on Al-Shabaab operative linked to Manda Bay attack » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 7 — The United States government is offering a reward of up to USD10 million for information leading to the whereabouts of Abdullahi Banati, an al-Shabaab operative linked to the 2020 terror attack at Manda Bay in Lamu County, Kenya.
The bounty was announced under the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program, which stated that Banati played a role in the “operational planning” of the January 2020 pre-dawn raid on Camp Simba, a military installation within the Cooperative Security Location (CSL) in Manda Bay.
The attack claimed the lives of three US personnel and left a Kenyan soldier wounded.
“If you have information on Abdullahi Banati or others responsible for the attack, submit your tip now,” the RFJ program urged in a statement on Wednesday, adding that informants may also be eligible for relocation in addition to the reward.
The Manda Bay Airfield is part of a Kenyan Defence Forces military base utilized by US armed forces to provide training and counterterrorism support to East African partners, respond to crises, and protect US interests in the region.
In March 2022, the Pentagon released a review of the attack, revealing how Kenyan troops supported their US counterparts in pacifying the situation.
No omission
US Africa Command’s Army Regulation 15-6 investigation, along with a Secretary of Defense-directed independent review, found that the “proximate cause of the loss of life and damage to property was the attack by a massed force of 30 to 40 determined, disciplined, and well-resourced al-Shabaab fighters.”
“The investigation and independent review further found that no single point of failure resulted in the loss of life and damage to property, and no single act or omission would have avoided the attack,” the US Department of Defense stated.
US AFRICOM awarded three Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel the Joint Service Commendation Medal for their heroic actions during the assault.
The Independent Review of the USAFRICOM 15-6 Investigation estimated the total damage resulting from the attack at over USD 90 million.
According to the report, the financial losses included six US aircraft destroyed in the early minutes of the attack. Additional damage to U.S. equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure amounted to another USD 10 million.
“These costs are initial rough estimates provided by the various contractors operating out of CSL Manda Bay,” the report stated.
However, the cost of damage to Kenyan aircraft was not listed.
Following the attack, the Defense Department noted that “US Africa Command directed a series of measures to improve force protection at all locations on the continent, and it continues to implement improvements to force protection, intelligence sharing, security force preparation, and mission command as identified by the 15-6 and independent review.”
US Africa Command has assigned responsibility to US Air Forces-Africa for the integration of base support, including force protection, at CSL Manda Bay.