Hero’s ‘good day out’
Navy Seals, in Nairobi to help train Kenyan counter terror troops. Though we will not reveal his name, the battlehardened sergeant had previously served in Afghanistan with coalition Special Forces.
Four al-Shabaab terrorists armed with AK-47 automatic rifles and a cluster of hand and smoke grenades attacked the
Dusit D2 hotel, firing indiscriminately on guests and tourists.
Victims included the British charity worker Luke Potter and US 9/11 survivor Jason Spindler.
Ever since the attacks on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi six years ago which killed 71 and injured 173, off-duty members of UK Special Forces are instructed to carry equipment at all times.
The soldier was able to retrieve body armour and webbing, packed with ammunition, as well as a Colt Canada C9 assault rifle and Glock pistol.
British and American Special Forces are increasingly working together in joint operations, and exchanges between the SBS and the US Navy Seals are both commonplace and vital to ensure that soldiers are familiar which their respective training, tactics and procedures.
According to military sources, the soldier made a call to the Kenyan liaison officer attached to his training team and gave directions for local police and paratroopers to block escape routes before volunteering to go in. The source said: “This training team has been here for some time and they knew their way around the city. They had even stayed at the hotel, so it would have been very familiar to this guy.
“Other team members were out of area and communications were working but problematic, so it was a case of doing whatever was possible to help – in this case, find, fix and kill the insurgents.”
A Special Forces source said the soldier would have been undaunted by taking on terrorists. “He would have seen it as a good day out,” he said.
It used to be case that the SBS was commanded by Navy chiefs, with SAS counterparts part of the British Army. But streamlining changes imposed last year mean that both units fall under Army command.