Nigeria militants say hostages are in their custody
Seven foreign crew kidnapped in an attack on an oil rig off the coast of Nigeria are being held by the country's main militant group. The hostages include two Frenchmen, two Indonesians, two Americans and a Canadian.
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"All the abducted expatriates are well and in our safe custody," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said in an emailed statement.
Overnight on Sunday, gunmen attacked an Afren oil rig, in the shallow-water Okoro oilfield off the Niger Delta.
The Mend statement said it would soon release the names of the hostages.
The group said on Monday it was also holding one Thai and three French nationals who were kidnapped several weeks ago and had since been transferred to its custody.
Gangs seeking ransom payments as well as militants claiming to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue have in recent years abducted scores of foreigners.
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