Security official says gunmen kidnapped 3 foreign aide workers in Kenya, took them to Somalia

October 6th, 2009 Somali minister for defense seized in UgandaMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen seized Somalia's state minister for defense Tuesday during a trip to the Ugandan capital, a Somali government spokesman said. Minister Yusuf Mohamed Siad was picked up as he walked out of a mosque in Kampala, Somali government spokesman Sheik Abdirisaq Qeylow said.

October 6th, 2009 Somali minister for defense kidnapped in UgandaMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen kidnapped Somalia's state minister for defense Tuesday during a trip to the Ugandan capital, a Somali government spokesman said. Minister Yusuf Mohamed Siad was abducted as he walked out of a mosque in Kampala, Somali government spokesman Sheik Abdirisaq Qeylow said.

October 3rd, 2009 Militant: 3 aid workers freed in SomaliaMOGADISHU, Somalia — Kidnappers on Saturday released three foreign aid workers they had held in Somalia for more than two months, an Islamic militia commander said. Hizbul Islam commander Sheik Abdullahi Nor said he saw the three former hostages board a small plane Saturday in the southwestern Somali town of Luq.

August 17th, 2009 3 Somali gunmen die in attack on UN compoundMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen stormed a U.N. aid compound in Somalia overnight, sparking a gunbattle that killed three of the attackers and wounded one, the agency said Monday.

August 11th, 2009 6 hostages freed in Somalia arrive in KenyaNAIROBI, Kenya — Four European aid workers and two Kenyan pilots released in Somalia after nine months as hostages arrived in Kenya on Tuesday, a relative said. The freed hostages were in good condition, said James Kamore, the father of one of the pilots, Duncan.

August 11th, 2009 4 aid workers, 2 pilots released in SomaliaPARIS — Four European aid workers and two Kenyan pilots were released Tuesday after nine months as hostages in Somalia thanks to efforts by officials, religious leaders and businessmen to free them, Somalia's national security minister said. French aid group Action Against Hunger said the six were "apparently all in good health" and will undergo medical examinations.

July 21st, 2009 France could use force to free Somalia hostagesPARIS — France's foreign minister says the country doesn't rule out sending commandos to try to free two French security advisers held hostage in Somalia. Bernard Kouchner says the two men are being held separately, apparently by two different militant groups.

July 18th, 2009 Somali insurgent group to try French hostagesNAIROBI, Kenya — Two French security advisers being held hostage in Somalia will soon be tried under Islamic law for alleged spying and "conspiracy against Islam," a senior member of a rebel group holding the men said Saturday. The official with the insurgent group al-Shabab said no date had been set for the trial.

July 18th, 2009 Official: 3 aid workers kidnapped in KenyaNAIROBI, Kenya — Gunmen have seized three foreign aid workers in northern Kenya and taken them across the border into Somalia, a security official said Saturday. Roughly 10 gunmen arrived late Friday night at a house in the border town of Mandera where the workers were staying, shot the watchman in the head and kidnapped the three, the official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

July 14th, 2009 NAIROBI/MOGADISHU - Two foreign journalists were kidnapped by armed men in the Somalian capital Mogadishu Tuesday, witnesses said. According to eyewitnesses, some armed men wearing police uniforms entered a hotel in an Islamist-rebel controlled part of the city and took two men away.

July 14th, 2009 Witnesses: 2 foreigners seized in SomaliaNAIROBI, Kenya — Gunmen stormed into a hotel in the Somali capital on Tuesday morning and kidnapped two French men who were working for the military, officials said. The manager of the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu said the men had registered as reporters, but a senior Somali government official said they were in Somalia to train government soldiers.

July 14th, 2009 2 French men seized in SomaliaNAIROBI, Kenya — Gunmen stormed into a hotel in the Somali capital on Tuesday and kidnapped two French security advisers on a mission to train Somali forces, officials said. The gunmen went from room to room at the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu looking for the French men, said hotel manager Mohamed Hassan Gafaa.

July 14th, 2009 Witnesses: 2 French journalists seized in SomaliaMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen kidnapped two French journalists from their hotel in the Somali capital Tuesday, the hotel manager and an eyewitness said. Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, who owns a teashop in front of the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu, said about 10 gunmen arrived in pickup trucks and a small car and disarmed the hotel guards.

July 14th, 2009 2 French security advisers seized at Somali hotelNAIROBI, Kenya — Two French security advisers on a mission to train Somali forces were kidnapped Tuesday at a hotel where they had checked in as journalists, officials and witnesses said. About 10 gunmen arrived at the Sahafi Hotel in a small car and a pickup truck mounted with machine guns before several of the men disarmed the guards and stormed inside, said Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, a witness who runs a tea shop nearby.

April 28th, 2009 Somali gunmen release 2 abducted aid workersMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen released two European aid workers on Tuesday after holding them for nearly 10 days in southwestern Somalia. Rab Dhure District Commissioner Sheik Mohamed Kheyr said elders and an extremist Islamic group helped secure the release of the employees of Doctors without Borders.