Djibouti is home to the U.S. military's major base on the continent, and Austin said Camp Lemonnier was"critical" to"countering violent extremism and supporting security throughout the region."
The setback was one of the reasons Somalia cited in requesting a"technical pause" to the military drawdown of African Union forces from Somalia. The drawdown, which started last week, is scheduled to see 3,000 AU soldiers transferring their forward operating bases to Somali soldiers by the end of this month.
A U.S. defense official described al-Shabab as a"difficult challenge" and"not one that is going to stop overnight."
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