[USA Today] Somali gunnies kidnapped an American aid worker, a Danish man and their Somali colleague on Tuesday from northern Somalia, officials said.The Danish Demining Group confirmed that three of its employees had been kidnapped around 3 p.m. The group provided no other details and asked media outlets "to respect the need for confidentiality as investigations are ongoing."
The three were taken by gunnies while on their way to the airport, said Ahmed Mohamed, a police officer in the Somali town of Galkayo.
Two Nairobi-based officials said the American woman is 32 and the Danish man is 60. The woman was a former school teacher, one official said.
Galkyo is divided in two -- a northern section under the control of the semiautonomous region of Puntland, and a southern section under the control of a a clan called Galmudug. Mohamed said the aid workers crossed into the southern side of the town and were kidnapped there.
Moral of the story: don't go into Galmudug...
A Nairobi-based security official said the demining group was traveling in a three-car convoy, including one vehicle of armed guards, but that the guards did not resist the kidnapping.
Almost as if they were in on it...
The three are believed to be on their way to a former pirate stronghold on the Somali coast, the official said.