US Warns of Possible Al-Shabaab Attacks in the Kenyan Airspace

The US government, through the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), has warned of possible Al-Shabaab attacks on flights on the Kenyan airspace. 

In its latest advisory to civilian airlines flying in the Kenyan airspace, FAA said Al-Shabaab militants have weapons capable of shooting down aircraft flying at low altitudes of up to 25,000 feet.

Planes using the popular northeastern Kenya and Somalia aviation routes are the ones at high risk of being brought down, according to the advisory.

The air routes connect Nairobi and Far Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, India, among other destinations served by major global airlines.

“The January 5th, 2020, complex attack on Camp Simba, which is co-located within Manda Bay Airport (HKLU), destroyed or damaged multiple aircraft, demonstrating the group’s intent and capabilities to target the aviation sector.”

“Such weapons present a risk to civil aircraft operating at low altitudes, including during the arrival and departure phases of flight and/or to airports and aircraft on the ground, especially at remote airfields located east of 40 degrees east longitude. Some MANPADS have the capability to reach a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet,” the advisory dated February 26th, 2021 states.

FAA further indicated that Al-Shabaab is likely to target Western airlines after a Kenyan national Cholo Abdi Abdullah was in December 2020 charged in the US with six counts of terrorism-related offenses arising from his activities as an operative of the Al-Qaeda-linked group. This included conspiring to hijack aircraft to conduct a 9/11-style attack in the US.

“This thwarted attack demonstrates al-Shabaab’s continued desire to attack US interests, potentially including civil aviation. The plot reinforces the United States’ concerns about the risk to US civil aviation in eastern Kenya in the Kenya-Somalia border region and the coastal region of Kenya adjacent to Somalia,” said the US government.