Nairobi, Dec 5 (IANS): Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) confirmed Friday that one of its combat aircraft which crashed in southern Somalia Thursday after developing mechanical problems came down within Al Shabaab territory who later set it on fire.

KDF spokesman Colonel David Obonyo said the Al Shabaab set the plane on fire and the fate of the pilot remained unknown. The aircraft crashed at 3.15 p.m. in Jamaame, southern Somalia, reports Xinhua.

"A KDF aircraft while returning from a combat mission in Somalia developed technical problems. The pilot of the aircraft made a distress call to his wingman, the pilot in a second aircraft," Obonyo said.

"Regrettably, the aircraft crashed within enemy territory, Al Shabaab militia reached the site of the crashed aircraft and set it on fire. The fate of the pilot remains unknown. He is still missing," he added.

The military aircraft, which had been on a combat mission, came down in the area of the southern port city of Kismayu, where Kenyan troops are deployed as part of Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), trying to stabilise the Horn of Africa nation.

Obonyo's remarks came hours after the insurgents claimed that they shot the aircraft down using a missile.