A roadside bomb targeted Kenyan soldiers patrolling the streets in the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, near a bus station in the city center, but no casualties have yet been officially confirmed.
“I saw two Kenyan soldiers laying on the ground, but I do not know whether they were dead or injured," said Hassan Abdulle, a Mandera resident, who spoke to Somalia Report.
''After the explosion, there was smoke all over the place and I couldn't see anything. Later I saw a soldier's car smoking, but I did not see any casualties," said another eyewitness.
Kenyan police immediately began investigations after the explosion and arrested 20 people, some of whom are still under police custody while others have been released.
Police have limited free movement in Mandera and are patrolling the streets, according to Mr. Abdulle.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement issued by the militant group, in retaliation for Kenya's invasion into southern Somalia in October of last year.
Mandera is a Kenyan border town, near Somalia's Belad Hawo, which had been under the control of al-Shabaab for several years.