Kenya's military on Thursday denied remarks attributed to Somali president that at least 180 of its soldiers who were serving under the African Union mandate in Somalia were killed by Al-Shabaab in the Jan. 15 attack in Gedo region.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Col. David Obonyo cautioned that the number of casualties in the attack in southern Somalia El-Adde camp should not be trivialized.

"I wish to deny information given by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud of Somalia that between 180-200 of our soldiers were killed during the attack. I don't want also to comment further on this since I don't know the source of this information," Obonyo told Xinhua by telephone.

President Mohamoud was quoted by Somali television station as saying it was difficult to lose between 180-200 soldiers in a single day.

"When 180 or close to 200 soldiers who were sent to us are killed in one day in Somalia, it's not easy," the Somali leader told the television station.

Obonyo said the relevant government agencies will deal with the issue, saying the figures given by the Somali president is beyond the company size.

"Since the comments were made by a sitting president that becomes a diplomatic issue. Relevant government bodies will handle it," Obonyo said.

Kenya has not officially released official details of the attack, but Al-Shabaab claimed to have killed 100 soldiers and captured 12 others in the attack.

Kenya is currently engaged in the fight against the militia group in southern Somalia where it has been registering impressive gains and extending humanitarian assistance to the local population.

The East African nation has more than 4,000 troops in the 22,000-strong AU force in Somalia, helping the UN-backed government battle Al-Shabaab which is part of the Al-Qaida allied terror network.

Al-Shabaab has, however, vowed reprisal attacks in the country, mainly targeting security forces in border towns of northern Kenya where dozens of people have been killed in landmine and grenade attacks blamed on the militant group. Endit

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