Pakistani oil worker kidnapped in Somalia

Somali gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped a Pakistani oil worker in the country's breakaway Puntland region, an official said. "The incident took place in a village near Bossaso. We don't know the identity of the kidnappers and their motive, but it could be part of the growing criminal acts by gangs who are seeking money," a top official in Puntland's mining ministry told Agencies on condition of anonymity. "The man is a Pakistan national," the official added. The man works for Africa Oil Corporation, a Canadian oil firm prospecting for oil fields in northern Somalia, the official said.