A United Nations helicopter carrying nine passengers was hijacked by terrorist group Al Shabab in Somalia on Wednesday after it was forced to make an emergency landing due to technical difficulties in an area controlled by the group, three senior Somali officials said.

Six of the passengers were captured, two escaped and one was killed, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The circumstances under which the person was killed were unclear.

One of the officials said there were foreigners among the passengers, but their nationality was not known. At least one Somali national was in the helicopter, another official said.

Al Shabab, which means “The Youth” in Arabic, has spread chaos across Somalia for nearly a decade and a half, promising to overthrow the United Nations-backed national government and establish an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa country. According to Somali authorities and U.S. intelligence officials, the group has between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters and earns about $120 million annually through extortion and taxation.

The helicopter, which belonged to the United Nations Support Office in Somalia, is providing logistical assistance to the 17,000-strong peacekeepers of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia. This support includes transporting food and fuel, providing land and air transport, and evacuating casualties.

The helicopter landed in the Galgaduud region of central Somalia on Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear why it had to land. The fate of the two escaped passengers is still unknown, said one of the officials.

The U.N. support office in Somalia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There was no immediate comment from Shabab or updates on websites affiliated with the group.

The plane had left the town of Beledweyne in central Somalia and was heading to Wisil, more than 200 miles to the east, two Somali officials said.

Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, confirmed the arrest at a news conference on Wednesday but declined to comment further.

“Response efforts are underway,” Mr. Dujarric said. “For the safety of everyone on board, we will say no more. Our main concern is their safety.”

Since Somalia came to power in 2022 President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has vowed to eliminate the Shabab both militarily and financially. He sent troops to areas in southern and central Somalia, including near where the helicopter landed.

With the help of American drones in the air and local clan militias on the ground, Somali troops have liberated dozens of small towns and villages, according to Somali officials and security officials.

Mr. Mohamud’s government also sought to limit the Shabab’s economic power by limiting its power Access to the financial system and vows to shut down the companies that pay him extortion fees.

But the Shabab remained warlike in the face of this offensivecarry out multiple attacks against security forces and civilians across the country. The group also targeted and killed dozens of local officials and city administrators who mobilized against them and assisted the government in counterinsurgency efforts.

The Shabab has brutalized hostages in the past, including during hotel sieges in the Somali capital Mogadishu and at a student dormitory in Kenya.

Experts say the group will most likely use the hostages as leverage or try to demand a ransom for their return.

“In the past, Al Shabab has showcased those captured by the group in propaganda videos to make demands, while also attempting to exchange other hostages for ransom,” said Omar S. Mahmood, senior East Africa analyst at the International Crisis Group. a non-profit organization.

On Wednesday evening, one of the senior Somali officials said there were ongoing discussions both within the government and with other security and UN agencies about what to do in the event of the hostage crisis.

“We are trying everything we can to save her,” the official said.

Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting from New York.