Somalia: Three decapitated bodies found after abduction

Somalia residents say they have found three decapitated bodies just days after Islamic State group-linked fighters abducted nine people. Hassan Adan, an elder in Qandala town in the semiautonomous state of Puntland, says the bodies found along a road near the town showed signs of torture. Puntland officials were not immediately available for comment.

Heavily armed fighters on Saturday stopped a truck carrying nearly two dozen passengers about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Qandala and abducted nine people.

The abducted included off-duty soldiers returning from areas where troops are battling the IS-linked fighters who had briefly captured Qandala.

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It was not immediately clear if the decapitated bodies were those of soldiers.

Somalia’s homegrown al-Shabab extremist group sees the IS-linked group as a threat to its operations in this long-chaotic nation.