Nigerian troops today rescued three men kidnapped last month by suspected ransom-seekers in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta.
The two Croats and a Montenegrin were working for oil services company Hydrodive were kidnapped on February 18th from a bar outside their base in the city of Port Harcourt.
"The joint task force, following a security tip-off that some militants were holding foreign hostages in the Ogbakiri area, have searched the location in an attempt to rescue the hostages. The operation was successful. We encountered little or no resistance," said military spokesman Sagir Musa.
The rescue operation came hours before armed robbers attacked a passenger boat at the nearby Bonny Island, killing two policemen.
Police said the robbery targeted a speed boat carrying staff of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, a huge gas export plant.
The attackers shot the two policemen dead and robbed the passengers of their valuables, police added.
Thousands of foreign workers have fled Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, since an escalation in kidnappings, robberies and militant raids last year.
Two Italians and one Frenchman seized by different armed groups are still in captivity in the Niger Delta, a vast wetlands which is home to Africa's largest oil industry.
Militancy is fuelled by unemployment and poverty in remote villages on the delta's mangrove-lined creeks, where Western oil companies operate multibillion-dollar production facilities.
A fifth of Nigeria's oil output has been shut by militant attacks for more than a year.
A community leader in Ogbakiri, a waterside village a few miles outside Port Harcourt, said troops had invaded the area.
"They said they were looking for the people who kidnapped some expatriates. They were shooting and everyone ran into the bush. Some people were wounded and some arrested," the community leader said, asking not to be named because he is being monitored by the security agencies.
"The community is innocent. They want the government to bring water, electricity and a hospital," he added.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which is holding two Italian hostages, is fighting for more regional autonomy in the delta, including control over its oil wealth.