Nine health care workers were killed and their bodies dumped along a highway, officials said Thursday.

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So tragic indeed," a Bal'ad district security official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

A police officer in the middle Shabelle region confirmed the incident to Anadolu Agency.

"We received this horrific news and we don't know who is behind this barbaric attack, but our police officials were deployed in the area and an investigation is underway," Bashir Mohamud Hassan told the Turkish news agency.

The workers were from Bal'ad, an agricultural town 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the capital, Mogadishu.