Kenyan security authorities on Tuesday killed three suspected terrorists and arrested seven others in the coastal town of Likoni, in a multi-agency operation.

The authorities said they also recovered an assortment of weapons and ammunition from the suspect's hideout, including 1,600 bullets and bomb-making material.

"Over 1,600 rounds of ammunition, grenades, G3 rifles among other assorted weapons were early today confiscated at Majengo Mapya in Likoni in a resolute operation by a multi-agency team led by ATPU Detectives." the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said.

While the identities of the suspects remains unknown, some local media has reported that they are allied to the al-Shabaab terror group based in Somalia.

The suspects are said to have been planning numerous attacks across the Kenyan coast.

Al-Shabaab has waged a war in Somalia for more than a decade, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions others.

While it largely operates in the Somalia, the group has often also staged attacks in Kenya, killing hundreds.

Some of the most notable attacks in Kenya attributed to the group include the April 2015 Garissa University College attack which killed at least 147 people, the September 2013 attack of a shopping mall in Nairobi which killed at least 70 people, and most recently the January 2019 attack on a shopping complex which left at least 21 dead.

Kenya has deployed troops in Somalia to help crush the group. While the fight has brought some success, the militants occasionally still manage to stage attacks within Somalia and Kenya, mostly by deploying suicide bombers.

Both the African Union mission in Somalia and the local forces are confident of defeating the group.

Source: DCI-Kenya