ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Nigeria's main militant group said Tuesday that it was responsible for an attack on an oil pipeline in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta took responsibility for a weekend attack that destroyed an oil pipeline in the restive region.
"This attack and similar attacks on pipelines which will take place within the next few days is a reminder to the Nigerian government of the futility of wasting the nation's resources in combating militancy without addressing the underlying causes of agitation in the Niger Delta," the group said in a statement quoted by CNN International.
MEND took over an oil rig run by Transocean off the southern coast of Nigeria in early November, injuring two of the crew members. A spokesman for the rig's owner, London's Afren PLC, said the injured workers had been shot in the legs and were reported in stable condition after being airlifted to a shore-based clinic.
Afren said Friday the seven crew members who were kidnapped in the Nov. 8 attack were released unharmed
MEND claimed responsibility for a deadly attack during the country's 50th anniversary of independence in October. The group also took the blame for a separate attack on an area rig recently that resulted in the kidnapping of employees of Exxon Mobil.
