Militants to hold hostages indefinitely

LAGOS, Nigeria – A militant group in Nigeria’s oil-rich delta said Friday it will hold four foreign hostages “indefinitely” to press for the release of two of the region’s jailed leaders and compensation from an oil company for alleged pollution.

The three Italian workers and one Lebanese man were taken captive Thursday in a raid on an oil export terminal operated by Agip, a subsidiary of Italian oil firm Eni SpA.

The group also threatened to target oil company offices, vehicles and personnel with roadside bombs.

“The hostages captured in yesterday’s attack in Brass will be held indefinitely and will be exchanged only with hostages of Niger delta origin in Nigerian government hands,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, said in an e-mail. “We say to all oil companies in the delta, your nightmare has not even begun.”

AP