Gunmen dynamited the front gate of a residential compound in southern Nigeria on Saturday and kidnapped three Indians in an attack that left one Nigerian dead, the military said.
Security forces intervened before seven other Indian nationals could be taken away from the compound in the main oil city of Port Harcourt, military spokesman Maj. Sagir Musa said.
One Nigerian civilian died in the pre-dawn attack, he said. There were no casualties among the security forces.
The attackers entered the compound after setting dynamite against the front entrance and detonating the charges, Musa said. The Indians’ employer was not immediately known.
Militants in the lawless region say they are fighting for the release of two of their leaders imprisoned on treason or corruption charges, as well as for more control of oil funds for their impoverished region.
Kidnappings of foreign workers have become frequent in the country’s troubled Niger Delta region since late 2005, when a militant group started using abductions in its campaign against the Nigerian government and oil companies. Criminal gangs have since taken up the practice.
Nearly 100 foreigners have been kidnapped since the beginning of the year � nearly double the entire total for 2006. Hostages are generally released unharmed after a ransom is paid. More than a dozen foreigners remain in captivity.
In recent days, gunmen seized four American subcontractors for Chevron Corp. from an offshore vessel, and militants blew up pipelines leading to the Brass export terminal, cutting production by 98,000 barrels per day and helping push crude prices higher worldwide.
Attacks that began in December 2005 have shut in over a quarter of production in Africa’s largest oil producer, which is also a major supplier of crude to the United States.
Despite Nigeria’s vast riches, the notoriously corrupt country remains poor, with few of its citizens able to access clean water or electricity.
Last month’s national elections failed to calm the unrest, after domestic and international observers reported widespread rigging and violence. Several militant groups issued statements saying they would refuse to recognize the new government.
Analysts have said, however, that the habit of paying ransoms to militant groups has spawned many copycat gangs who kidnap foreigners for cash and have no political agenda.