Kenyan troops clashed with al-Shabaab fighters who ambushed them in Somalia Thursday, killing nine members of the militant group, a Kenyan army spokesman said. The BBC reported it marked the first time Kenyan troops had clashed with the Islamist militants since crossing the border into Somalia two weeks ago. Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, a Kenya army spokesman, said a Kenyan convoy had been ambushed about 60 miles from the border, between the southern towns of Tabda and Bilis Qoqani along a route that leads to the port of Kismayo, an al-Shabaab stronghold. But al-Shabaab, which controls much of central and southern Somalia, said 20 Kenyans had died and a spokesman for the group, Abdul Asis Abu Muscab, said the fighting had just begun and more attacks would come. Kenya, which has blamed al-Shabaab for recent kidnappings in Kenya, sent troops into southern Somalia this month. Al-Shabaab denies the claim. Meanwhile, Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, a Kenyan man who admitted he\'s a member of al-Shabaab was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to grenade attacks in Nairobi. The Monday attacks on a nightclub and bus stop in the capital killed one person and wounded 29 others, the BBC said.