Somali gunmen kidnapped three aid workers working for Danish Demining Group in northern Somalia on Tuesday, the humanitarian agency said, the second capture of Western aid agency staff working in the region this month.

Today, at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Somalia, three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped. One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man, it said in a statement.

Somali gunmen kidnapped two Spanish staff working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya on October 13.

Abdullahi Salad, transport minister in the northern region of Galmudug, told Reuters the Danish Demining Group staff were taken in the southern part of Galkayo on Tuesday afternoon.

Abshir Diini Awale, minister of the interior and national security in Galmudug, said the aid workers were seized shortly after arriving at Galkayo airport.

We don't know who kidnapped them but we have alerted our security forces to track down the hostages, he said.

Somalia Kenya Kenya Somalia