MOGADISHU, Sept 30: Kenyan helicopter gunships struck Shebab bases outside the Somali port of Kismayo to clear the way for a takeover of the town abandoned by the Al Qaeda linked Islamist fighters, the army said Sunday.

Residents said Kismayo was in the grip of lawlessness and a power vacuum,

with gunmen killing at least three people since the Shebab pulled out of the city on Saturday, their last bastion to fall.

The Kenyan army said helicopter gunships were attacking Shebab bases outside the city ahead of a final ground assault to occupy the strategic southern city after an advance by Kenyan and Somali troops forced the Islamists out.—AFP