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A Canadian journalist is being held hostage in Somalia after being abducted by gunmen near Mogadishu.

Amanda Lindhout, a 26-year-old freelance journalist from Red Deer, Alta., was captured Saturday as she went to visit a refugee camp near Elasha, 18 kilometres south of Mogadishu. Ms. Lindhout didn't return to her hotel room on Saturday afternoon, causing the hotel to raise the alarm.

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists, Nigel Brennan, a 27-year-old freelance Australian photojournalist, a Somali translator and two bodyguards were also kidnapped.

"No formal claim of responsibility has been made and the motive for the kidnapping remains unknown. As well, there have been no demands," the NUSOJ said in a statement.

But it said information received from its local members early yesterday suggested militiamen were holding the group hostage in Mogadishu's northeastern district of Suqa Holaha.

"It is not clear whether they are being held for political purposes, [as] bargaining chips or for financial purposes. But journalists who spoke on condition of anonymity for their security said the abduction seemed to be a pre-planned attack," the NUSOJ added.

Ms. Lindhout is a well-travelled journalist. Before travelling to Somalia, she had been reporting in Baghdad for Press TV, an Iranian-based English-language media organization. She has also reported from Afghanistan, and had travelled through Ethiopia several years ago with Mr. Brennan.

According to local media reports, Ms. Lindhout was working for French television while in Somalia, and was also hoping to sell her work to Canadian networks, including Global National. Ms. Lindhout had pitched reports of her trip to Global, Global spokeswoman Yvonne Chiang said, but hadn't been contracted to work in Somalia by the television network.

This year, Ms. Lindhout has also written a weekly column for the Red Deer Advocate from Iraq. Her work has offered "detailed and heartfelt observations on her experiences in the tragic and violent surroundings of Iraq and Africa," said John Stewart, the Advocate's news editor.

"She is an intelligent, caring and adventurous professional who was aware of the dangers of the regions she frequented," he said in a statement. "She was also aware that her audience was keenly interested in her world perspective and she worked bravely to bring them that perspective."

Amanda Lindhout's mother, Lorinda, said that her daughter felt it important to report from dangerous regions.

"She has to be on the front lines and she has to be with the people to tell their story," she told local media. "And the humanitarian side of everything was - is - huge for Amanda, to bring that to the light, so that people can help."

The Somali government has said it is trying to find Ms. Lindhout and Mr. Brennan. The country, which has been riven with civil war for decades and has had no effective national government since 1991, is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

"Prudence is required in Somalia, where the situation is complex and journalists and humanitarian aid workers are often abducted by militias acting with very diverse motives," press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said.

With reports from Reuters and AP