Navy SEAL may have been outed in video of Nairobi attack

Business Insider
Apr 29, 2020
1 minute read
Navy photo

SUMMARY

Video of a suspected terror attack at an office building complex in Nairobi, Kenya, may have captured a US Navy SEAL on a secretive mission to combat Islamic militants in Africa. The attack, which left 14 dead, has been claimed by the al-Shaba…

Video of a suspected terror attack at an office building complex in Nairobi, Kenya, may have captured a US Navy SEAL on a secretive mission to combat Islamic militants in Africa.

The attack, which left 14 dead, has been claimed by the al-Shabab terror group and may have come as retaliation for Kenyan troops, who along with other forces brought together by the African Union, have been fighting the terrorist insurgency in Somalia.


Meanwhile, the US has kept secretive forces strewn across Africa. In 2017, a US Navy SEAL was killed in a battle fighting alongside Somali forces against al-Shabab in Mogadishu.

In 2018, an ambush by militants in Niger claimed the lives of four service members.

From left, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Fla.; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All four were killed in the Niger ambush in 2018.

(US Army)

The Pentagon has been reluctant to provide details on how exactly it supports different African nations in combating terrorist insurgencies, usually saying it's "advising and assisting" unnamed countries.

But even in Kenya, one of Africa's more stable countries, the US has a small presence at Camp Simba, where they reportedly train naval special forces. Kenya, like its neighbor, Somalia, has trouble with pirates and has seen some US Navy SEAL presence over the years.

Look for this patch, used by Navy SEAL Team 3, on the unidentified man's pack.

(Amazon)

In the video of the Nairobi terror attack, a white man wearing a US military-style backpack with a patch that's used by US Navy SEAL Team 3 can be seen at the 30-second mark rescuing civilians and then returning to the scene of the fighting in a state of alertness.

Gun attack underway after explosion at upscale hotel in Nairobi

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Gun attack underway after explosion at upscale hotel in Nairobi

The attack sent hotel workers fleeing for their lives.… READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2019/01/15/gun-attack-underway-after-explosion-at-upscale-hotel-i...

UK special forces responded to the attack which left one British national dead, the BBC reported.

The man in question wears civilian clothes and covers his face, a style seen worn by US and UK special forces elsewhere.

Business Insider contacted three spokespeople for US Africa Command, and none of them denied the possibility that the man in question was a US Navy SEAL.

The attack is considered over, Kenyan authorities told Reuters.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.

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