Two Save the Children staff have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Somalia, the charity says.
The two men seized from the town of Adado near the Ethiopian border are believed to be a British security consultant and a local aid worker.
Local witnesses have told the BBC the security consultant also has Zimbabwean nationality.
After years of violence, few foreigners still work in Somalia.
The BBC's Mohamed Mwalimu in the capital, Mogadishu, says there is fierce fighting around the town of Adado.
He says the town is in the hands of a group allied to the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab, which in turn has links to al-Qaeda.
But a moderate Islamist group allied to the UN-backed government is trying to wrest away control of the town and there is heavy fighting near the airport, our reporter says.
The security consultant had reportedly gone to Adado to see if it was safe enough for Save the Children to set up a base there.
"The gunmen, heavily armed with machine-guns, stormed the building where the men stayed and they took them," local elder Mohamed Abdullahi told the AFP news agency.
Save the Children says it has no details on the pair's well-being or whereabouts.
Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Somalia in recent years.
Most have been freed unhurt after a ransom has been paid.
Al-Shabab and its allies control most of southern and central Somalia.
In recent weeks, government forces, backed by African Union peacekeepers, have gained some ground in Mogadishu.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-11549469
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