14 killed in Al Shabab attack in Somalia

At least 14 people were killed in the Somali port town of Kismayu when a Kenyan military convoy was reportedly ambushed by Al Shabaab militants, a media report said Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday and the fighting lasted about five hours, Independent Online reported.

"Fierce fighting between a convoy of the Kenyan army and Al Shabaab fighters in Yoontooy village, 20 km north of Kismayu, has killed over 14 people. Most of them were Al Shabaab fighters," the report quoted Abdinasir Seerar, a local administration spokesperson, as saying.

However, Al Shabaab commander Sheikh Abdirahman Hudeyfa told pro-insurgent Radio Andalus that the group killed more than "10 Kenyan soldiers and four Somali militias".

A resident of Yoontooy, who asked not to be named, told reporters that he saw bodies of at least four Al Shabaab fighters and three civilians.

There was no immediate comment from the African Union, which has about 22,000 soldiers helping the government fight Al Shabaab in the Horn of Africa country.

Al Shabaab seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, and has had an alliance with Al Qaeda since 2012.

Somalia's conflict with Al Shabaab has lasted nearly a decade, leading to thousands of deaths.