Militants attack Nigerian oil facility, kidnap 5

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) – Militants attacked a Shell-operated oil facility in the Niger Delta on Wednesday, setting a house boat on fire and kidnapping five South Korean contractors, authorities said.

The attack comes on the heels of the abduction of eight foreign oil workers last Friday, who were released on Sunday, and amid rising militancy across Nigeria’s southern oil heartland.

A coalition of three militant groups calling itself the Joint Revolutionary Council said in an emailed statement that it had taken five workers hostage, sunk a naval gunboat and destroyed a drilling rig and a naval houseboat.

There were several casualties, it said, without elaborating.

Reuters