Nairobi - Kenyan police on Thursday said five Kenyans have been seized by Somali insurgents near the border between Somalia and Kenya.

The five, four education officers and their driver, were on a visit to the north-eastern Kenyan town of Mandera.

They crossed the border to Somali, supposedly to go shopping, and were taken by Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab on Wednesday.

Al-Shabaab, which continues to wage a bloody struggle against the Somali government, said it had arrested the Kenyans for crossing the border with no papers.

Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said everything was being done to secure the Kenyan citizens' release.

The border between the two nations is officially closed but remains porous.

People in the remote north-east Kenya, where a large chunk of the population is ethnic Somali, often cross the border to get supplies or buy from Somali smugglers rather than pay higher prices for Kenyan goods. (dpa)