Gunmen Attack Oil Rig Off Nigeria, Seize 7 Hostages

Gunmen have attacked an offshore oil rig in Nigeria’s troubled Niger Delta region, kidnapping seven people.

The company that operates the rig, Afren, says gunmen in speedboats attacked the rig late Sunday about 12 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state.

They took seven hostages and wounded two other people, leaving them behind.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says two of the hostages and one of the wounded are Americans. He says it is up to other governments to decide if they want to identify the others.

Crowley says the United States is working with Nigerian officials to secure freedom for the hostages and to investigate the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Niger Delta is home to criminal gangs that steal oil and take hostages for ransom. The region also has militants who say they are fighting for a fairer distribution of oil wealth.

The main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, has carried out many attacks and kidnappings aimed at the oil industry.

Hundreds of militants laid down their arms under a government amnesty program last year, but some factions of the group may still be active. MEND claimed responsibility for bombings in the capital, Abuja, that killed 12 people on October 1.

Some information in this story was provided by AFP.