Oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria

Eight foreign oil workers have been kidnapped by Nigerian militants.

In the early hours of Saturday, a group of gunmen in a speed boat attacked a petroleum tanker on the Bonny river in the south of the country.

Two people were shot and injured while eight oil workers, believed to include a number of Russians, were kidnapped.

More than 200 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta over the past two years but often released after payment of ransom.

It is believed the tanker belonged to Global Gas and Refining Ltd, a Nigerian subsidiary of US-based Global Energy Inc, which has been stationed along the Bonny river for more than two years.

Lt Col Sagir Musa, military spokesman in the eastern Niger Delta, said: "Around six heavily armed bandits attacked an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tanker, shot two civilians and abducted eight of the expatriates, whose identity is not yet ascertained."

He said the two civilians had been wounded but not killed during the attack, which took place between 0100 and 0400 (0000-0300 GMT).

Lt Col Musa said no group had claimed responsibility, but the motive was believed to be financial.

Late on Thursday, 12 people were kidnapped from a boat near the Niger Delta. Seven of them were later freed but five people remain captive.