The United States Embassy in the Kenyan capital Nairobi was closed Friday after police shot dead an attacker who had stabbed an officer guarding the building.
The attacker stabbed a police officer in the head while the officer was guarding the perimeter wall of the embassy building Thursday, which is located in the Gigiri district of Nairobi. The officer shot the assailant in self-defense, Gigiri police commander Vitalis Otieno told Associated Press.
The attacker was a Kenyan national from Wajir, a region bordering Somalia, according to Otieno.
The U.S. Embassy confirmed that "a shooting incident" had taken place outside its premises but said that no personnel or U.S. citizens were involved, and that the embassy would be closed Friday.
"Review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security," a statement on the embassy's website said.
Kenyan police have not shared details about the attacker, but investigators from the FBI were seen collecting evidence at the scene on Thursday, AP reported. Eyewitnesses told a New York Times reporter that the assailant began shouting, "Why? Why? Why?" as he stabbed the officer. The Times also reported that the officer was able to walk to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Kenyan authorities have identified Wajir county as a region ripe for recruitment by Somali extremist group Al-Shabab. The militant group, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda, declared war on Kenya after the country's troops invaded Somalia in a bid to crush Al-Shabab in 2011.
Al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for an attack on Tuesday at a guesthouse in Kenya's Mandera county, in which 12 people were killed.
It is not the first time the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has been targeted. 200 people were killed in a double truck bombing on the building and its counterpart in Tanzania in August 1998. The attacks were allegedly masterminded by Fazul Abdallah Mohammed, who headed Al-Qaeda's operations in East Africa. Mohammed was killed by Somali troops in 2011.
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Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.
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