Somali gunmen kidnap German national, wife

BOSSASO, Somalia, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A German national and his Somali wife have been abducted by gunmen in Bossaso, Somalia, officials said Sunday.

Ahmed Jama, a police officer in the Somali state of Puntland, said the two kidnapping victims, whose names were not revealed, were taken by force while traveling through the port city Saturday evening, Deutsche Welle reported.

"The German national and his Somali wife were kidnapped by gunmen who took them towards the mountainous areas in eastern Bossaso," Jama said.

Puntland presidential adviser Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade said the couple had been traveling to visit her family in the area.

"We have been told that he is a Muslim with a Somali wife who resides in Bossaso," Qabowsade told Deutsche Welle.

The German broadcaster said the kidnapping is the latest in a series of regional abductions in recent months. Most of the Somali kidnappings tend to target foreigners and typically involve eventual ransom demands.