An American man was kidnapped by gunmen in central Somalia's Galmudug region on Saturday, officials said. The man is an American engineer who came to Somalia to carry out an evaluation for building a deep water port in the town of Hobyo, a minister from the Galmudug administration said. Local government and military officials said they believed the assailants were the man's own guards and might be linked to a pirate gang, Reuters reported. Kidnapping for ransom has spiked in Somalia in recent years — at least four aid workers, a French military official, a British tourist taken from Kenya and hundreds of sailors are currently being held captive.
