Mogadishu  - Gunmen kidnapped two Italian aid workers and their Somali colleague in the the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia early Wednesday, local officials said.

Aid workers have faced increasing danger in the conflict-ridden East African nation this year.

Two drivers for the World Food Programme and a US aid worker have been killed this year, while German and Spanish nationals have been kidnapped.

The militant group al-Shabaab, the armed wing of the Council of Islamic Courts, vowed to step up attacks against foreigners after a US airstrike killed its leader Aden Hashi Ayro in early May.

The Council of Islamic Courts controlled Mogadishu for six months in 2006 before being driven out by government and Ethiopian troops.

Somalia has been in a state of anarchy since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

It has been without an effective central authority, leading to constant inter-clan clashes that have left thousands dead and around one million displaced. (dpa)