The Kenyan military claimed on Sunday to have killed 21 Islamic insurgents in a firefight in neighboring Somalia.

The Kenyan military claimed on Sunday to have killed 21 Islamic insurgents in a firefight in neighboring Somalia.

Military spokesman David Obonyo said two Kenyan soldiers were also killed and five others wounded when Shebab militants laid an ambush in Afmadhow, southern Somalia, on Saturday afternoon.

"21 Shebab militants were killed," Obonyo said, during what he described as a "fierce engagement".

Last week, the Kenyan army said it thwarted an attack on a military camp also at Afmadhow, killing 19 militants.

Earlier this month, the US said it carried out an airstrike on a Shebab training camp north of the Somali capital Mogadishu killing 150 gunmen, a figure disputed by the insurgents.

The Shebab was ousted from Mogadishu in August 2011 and has since lost much territory. Today, it concentrates on guerrilla attacks in the Somali countryside, bombings and suicide raids in towns and cities, and terror assaults in Kenya.