Nine KDF soldiers lost their lives and five others sustained serious injuries following an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack on their vehicle at Gherille, in Gedo, Somalia.

The attack happened on Monday afternoon when the vehicle the soldiers were travelling in ran over the IED, detonating it and causing death and injury to the occupants.

Reports say the IED must have been planted by the roadside and it is believed the infamous terrorist group Al Shabaab launched the attack.

The lorry was in a convoy of other vehicles which had just come from fetching water from a water point within the Kenyan borders when the incident happened.

According to officials, soldiers who survived the blast with injuries were airlifted to Nairobi for medical attention.

However, KDF is yet to issue an official statement on the attack.

Al Shabaab has in the recent past executed similar attacks on Kenyan soldiers and citizens.