Somali and Kenyan troops rescued four foreign aid workers held hostage inside Somalia, three days after they were seized from a refugee camp in neighbouring Kenya, the armies said yesterday.

Friday's attack at the Dadaab refugee camp was the first abduction of foreigners from Kenya since the east African country sent troops into Somalia in October to crush al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group.

A Kenyan driver was shot dead during the kidnapping. The four are staff of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and come from Canada, Norway, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Colonel Abduallahi Moalim said Somali government soldiers in the Lower Juber region that borders Kenya stopped a vehicle carrying supplies for the attackers on Sunday.

The army seized three of the occupants who directed the force to the hostages, he said. They were being held near the border between the towns of Diff and Dhobley.

"Our forces have rescued the four aid workers kidnapped from Kenya in an overnight rescue operation," Col Moalim said. "They are healthy and unhurt." .

The NRC declined to comment but said it would be releasing a statement shortly.