Al Shabaab and government forces battled for control of a remote army base in Somalia on Friday, after fighters from the terrorist militant group said they attacked the compound, killing dozens of soldiers.
The group, which is aligned with al Qaeda, said it took over the base, about 550 km (340 miles) west of Mogadishu after a suicide bomber from the group rammed its gates. It said it was also in control of the small town of Ceel Cado nearby.
It said it killed 61 Kenyan soldiers serving as part of the African Union forces, while other soldiers escaped. The claim could not be independently verified.
In the past, al Shabaab has inflated casualty figures while Kenyan government officials have played them down.
A spokesman for Kenya's Defence Forces (KDF) said al Shabaab fighters overran a Somalia National Army camp situated close to a second camp run by Kenya Defence forces.
"(Kenyan) troops under (African Union auspices) counter-attacked ... The fighting is still going on ...and the number of casualties on both sides is unknown," Col. David Obonyo, KDF spokesman, said in a statement; Reuters reported.
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