A Kenyan army spokesman said Kenyan forces were ambushed about 60km (40 miles) from the border, along the route that leads towards the port of Kismayo - an al-Shabab stronghold.
Residents in the area said the exchange of fire lasted for at least 30 minutes.
Maj Chirchir said nine al-Shabab fighters were killed and two Kenyan soldiers were wounded, one critically.
That isn't the part I'm interested in highlighting, as nice as it is to have Kenya on offense against jihadis. No, this tiresome hand wringing is the important part:
But BBC Africa analyst Grant Ferret say Kenya's exact aims in Somalia still remain unclear; some suspect it plans to create a buffer zone to provide protection from its unstable neighbour.
The risk is that it not only becomes bogged down in a military campaign against insurgents, but that its own security is undermined, he says.
Ah, yes. The old refrain that fighting back just makes more jihadis. Better to just take the occasional terrorist attacks and avoid making eye contact lest we catch their eye, and hope the jihadis strike elsewhere.
Really, by fighting back, we're only making it worse for ourselves:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Only fighting back ineffectively produces more jihadis. Fighting is the only way to defeat them. And while killing jihadis isn't the way to beat jihadi ideology in the long run, in the short run it is certainly very necessary.
