Garowe Online reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that the helicopter "accidentally" landed in the territory controlled by al-Shabaab militants after a technical glitch near the town of Haradhere in the Galguduud administrative region of Somalia. The report further said that there were at least nine UN workers aboard the helicopter, adding that two UN employees managed to escape captivity, while others were still detained by militants.
Mohamed Abdi Adan, the minister of internal security of the Somali state of Galmudug, told Bloomberg later in the day that the militants killed one passenger and were holding five others hostage. The minister reportedly confirmed that the UN helicopter with soldiers and medical personnel was on an evacuation mission and landed in the Galguduud region after experiencing a mechanical failure.
The Wall Street Journal reported later in the day, citing the Somali military, that the nine people aboard the captured helicopter included two Kenyan medics, a Ugandan soldier, a Somali officer and an Egyptian doctor who was later killed by the militants.
The UN mission in Somalia confirmed on Wednesday that its contracted helicopter experienced an "aviation incident" during an attempt to carry out a medical evacuation.
Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based jihadist militant group linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group. It wages armed resistance against the Somali government and obstructs UN humanitarian missions in the country.
*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia and many other states.