
ABUJA, Nigeria, July 26 (UPI) -- Eight oil workers were kidnapped Saturday in a brazen assault on a petroleum tanker in Nigeria, a military official said.
Lt .Col. Sagir Musa, the military spokesman for the eastern Niger Delta, said the early-morning assault left two people injured and eight other tanker workers in the hands of their abductors, the BBC reported.
"Around six heavily armed bandits attacked an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tanker, shot two civilians and abducted eight of the expatriates, whose identity is not yet ascertained," he said.
Musa said the kidnappings were suspected to be financially motivated despite the fact no group had yet to assume responsibility or demand a ransom.
The militant attack in southern Nigeria came two days after 12 people were kidnapped by gunmen while on a boat in the Niger Delta. Of those taken in Thursday's incident, seven were soon freed and five were still being held.
The BBC said during the last two years, more than 200 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in the region and most were released after a ransom was paid.
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