Five Kenyan soldiers have been killed and 10 others injured in a suspected Al-Shabaab attack in the coastal Lamu County.

The Kenya Defence Forces officers died after their truck ran over an improvised explosive device on Kiunga-Sankuri road on Wednesday morning.

KDF spokesperson Colonel Paul Njuguna said the attack took place at about 8:00am local time as the officers were on a humanitarian assignment to fetch and distribute water to residents.

The officers are part of the ongoing multi-agency Operation Linda Boni that launched by the national government in September 2015 to flush out Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the dense Boni forest.

“Following the incident, 10 KDF soldiers are receiving medical care from injuries sustained,” Col Njuguna said in a statement.

He thanked the locals who offered assistance to the officers and called upon them to assist in weeding out lurking terror elements in their midst.

The attack comes barely three weeks after six KDF soldiers were killed and five others injured in a similar attack in Lamu on August 8.