HAZEL CREST – A 23-year-old soldier from south suburban Hazel Crest was among those killed over the weekend when jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabaab militants attacked a military base in Kenya, NBC Chicago is reporting.
Henry Mayfield Jr. was killed in an attack launched by al-Shabab forces before dawn at Manda Bay Airfield, his family told NBC Chicago. Two Defense Department contractors were also killed in the attack, according to Pentagon officials.
Mayfield’s family confirmed his death Sunday evening, saying that military officials had reached out to them that afternoon to report that he had been killed in action.
Former Illinois senator Kyle McCarter is serving as US Ambassador to Kenya at the US embassy stationed 472 km west of the Manda Bay base where the attack took place.
