MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Gunmen inside an airport in Somalia shot and killed two consultants working for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN mission in the country said Monday.

Nicholas Kay, the UN representative to Somalia, said the two were working in support of Somalia's aspiration for a peaceful and stable future.

Britain's Foreign Office said one of the workers was British. The UN did not immediately release the nationality of the other consultant.

William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, condemned the killings and called on Somali authorities to urgently investigate the case.

A UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hadn't yet been made public said the two slain workers were working on a counter-piracy program and were looking at the financial flow of money related to Somalia's pirate attacks.