Officials: Gunmen in Somalia kidnap 3 people working with UN program to clear land mines

Gunmen in Somalia kidnapped three people _ a Swede, a Dane and a Somali _ working with a U.N. program to clear land mines in the volatile east African country, officials and residents said.

The gunmen abducted them in the town of Hudur, which is in the southwestern Bakol region, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, authorities said.

Five Somali soldiers were wounded during the kidnapping, Bakol Deputy Governor Sheik Hassan Ibrahim said. He said the three work with a U.N. program to clear land mines.

The U.N. Development Program, which manages such programs in Somalia, declined to comment.

Residents said …