Teachers killed in Somalia named

Daud Hassan Ali, 70, and Rehana Ahmed, 32, were killed alongside two Kenyan teachers in the town of Belet Weyne, near the Ethiopian border, the Foreign Office confirmed.

The bodies of the four teachers, believed to have been shot in the head, were discovered on Monday at the Hakab Private English School in the town.

Mr Ali was married to a British woman and had two sons in Birmingham, his nephew has said.

Abdul-qadir Anshur Ali, who was also teaching at the school, said: "(My uncle) came to the region to help its people learn something and now he is dead for no reason."

Local police chief Abdi Aden Adow said both British victims were of Somali origin.

Residents said the killers arrived late on Monday, took up strategic positions, freed prisoners and burned the governor's house before withdrawing.

The police chief said security forces fled when they heard the insurgents were coming.

A spokesman for the Islamist al-Shabab Movement, who admitted its men took the town said: "We heard that the foreigners were killed but we do not claim responsibility."

A Briton was kidnapped at gunpoint by militia in Somalia at the beginning of this month.The Foreign Office advises against all travel to the country.