Somalia:Kenya troops 'pull out of Somali el-Ade and Badhadhe bases'

No official figures have been released about the number of troops killedKenyan forces have pulled out from two military bases in Somalia, including one attacked by militant Islamist group al-Shabab, residents have told the BBC.

Al-Shabab fighters were spotted in the southern town of Badhadhe after the troops pulled out, residents added.

Soldiers had also left el-Ade, where al-Shabab said it had killed about 100 Kenyan soldiers 11 days ago.

A Kenyan army spokesman said troops were involved in a "normal operational manoeuvre" and not a withdrawal.

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Kenya, which contributes about 4,000 troops to the 22,000-strong African Union force battling the militants in Somalia, has not said how many of its soldiers died in the attack on el-Ade, which is in the south-western region of Gedo.

If al-Shabab figures are correct, it would make it the deadliest attack on Kenyan forces since they crossed into Somalia in 2011.

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Residents in el-Ade told the BBC they welcomed the pull-out, as they had been subjected to constant harassment and air strikes from Kenyan forces since the assault on the base.

Several civilians had been killed during the Kenyan operation, they added.

In a BBC interview, army spokesman Col David Obonyo denied this, saying only an al-Shabab camp had been targeted.

Kenya has said that the bombs used by insurgents at the el-Ade base were three times more powerful than that used by al-Qaeda in the 1998 US embassy attack in the capital, Nairobi, which left 224 people dead.