Mogadishu - A Pakistani oil worker has been kidnapped in northern Somalia, a local official said Wednesday.

"A Pakistani oil worker was kidnapped early Wednesday morning," Yusuf Ahmed, head of Action Against Human Trafficking, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"Two of his bodyguards kidnapped him as he carried out a survey."

The man was working for Canada-based Africa Oil Corp in the breakaway Somali region of Puntland. No demands have yet been issued.

Foreigners are often kidnapped in Somalia, although in Puntland kidnappers are generally pursuing a ransom.

In South and Central Somalia, foreigners are targets for murder and kidnap as a bloody insurgency continues.

Almost daily battles have blighted the Horn of Africa nation since Ethiopian troops invaded in 2006 to kick out the Islamist regime and put the transitional federal government back in power.

Islamist insurgents have since fought back, but civilians have borne the brunt of the fighting, with agencies saying almost 10,000 have died since early 2007.

Somalia is also notorious for its piracy, with the hijacking of ships a regular occurrence.

A Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other military equipment is currently in the hands of pirates, although they are penned in by international warships. (dpa)