NAIROBI — The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab seized the crew of a United Nations helicopter that made an emergency landing Wednesday, said two Mogadishu-based sources with international organizations.
Al-Shabab set the helicopter on fire and seized an unknown number of crew after the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on its way to the town of Wisil, a Western official told The Washington Post. All three spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
A spokeswoman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia did not return calls seeking comment.
The United Nations provides logistical and medical support to the 17,500-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
Somali government forces, supported by the AU peacekeeping force, have clawed back territory from al-Shabab in recent years but the insurgent group still controls swaths of the country. Hundreds of U.S. troops are also present in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been torn apart by civil war since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew a dictator then turned on each other.