Kenyan police have arrested two doctors with suspected ties to the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab, while the Kenyan military continues its cross-border hunt for al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia.

Police said Friday the two doctors were detained in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. They were due to appear in court Friday on terror-related charges.

A Kenyan ground and air offensive is also targeting the al-Qaida-linked group in southern Somalia. Army officials say they have taken control of the Somali coastal city of Ras Kamboni and are said to be closing in on Kismayo, an important al-Shabab base.

Kenya blames al-Shabab for kidnapping foreigners in Kenyan territory — an allegation the group denies.

Meanwhile in the Somali capital Mogadishu, al-Shabab militants appeared to recapture most of Daynile district after clashes with African Union troops.

Al-Shabab has claimed killing more than 70 AU troops in the battle. But in an interview with VOA on Friday, an AU spokesman called that claim “propaganda.” Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda accused al-Shabab of dressing up their own dead as AU troops. Ankunda said six AU troops were killed and two others are missing.

Journalists and witnesses have told VOA the al-Qaida-linked group retook the Daynile district on Thursday, not long after Somali officials said pro-government forces and AU troops were in control.

Al-Shabab controlled all but a few blocks of the capital just last year. But Somali forces and AU peacekeepers pushed them back. The militants pulled out from most parts of the city in August.