Blast kills 5 soldiers, injures 10 in Kenya coastal region

At least five Kenyan soldiers were killed and ten others seriously injured in the coastal Lamu region early Wednesday.

Kenya Defence Force (KDF) spokesman Paul Njuguna confirmed the incident which took place at around 8 a.m. local time (GMT 0500) along the Kiunga and Sankuri road in Lamu.

Njuguna said the incident took place after the soldiers who were on a humanitarian civil assignment to fetch and distribute water to the local residents in the area hit an improvised explosive device (IED) along the Kiunga and Sankuri road.

"Following the incident, ten KDF soldiers are receiving medical care from injuries sustained. Regrettably, five other soldiers succumbed to their injuries," Njuguna said in a statement.

The IED is suspected to have been planted by Somali militant group, al-Shabab militants who continue to wreak havoc in the region.

The military spokesman lauded locals who offered assistance to soldiers shortly after the incident occurred and called upon locals to cooperate with the KDF who are currently conducting the Linda Boni security operation and assist in weeding out lurking terror elements in their midst and subsequently aid the progressive pacification of the region.

The latest IED attack comes barely a month after six soldiers died in a similar manner after their vehicle ran over an IED at a local bridge area in Lamu on Aug. 8.

The KDF are currently in year four of a security operation dubbed Linda Boni which was launched by the national government in a bid to flush out al-Shabab militants said to be hiding inside the dense Boni forest and neighboring areas in Lamu.