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10 Turkish soldiers kidnapped off Nigerian coast

By Danielle Haynes

July 16 (UPI) -- Armed men boarded a ship off the coast of Nigeria on Tuesday and kidnapped 10 Turkish sailors, a Turkish shipping company said.

Ahmet Paksoy, a co-partner in Kadioglu Denizcilik shipping company, told CNN that "pirates" boarded the ship and abducted the senior crew members in the Gulf of Guinea. Eight other crew members were left behind and were able to bring the ship to harbor in Ghana.

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The International Maritime Bureau said the Gulf of Guinea is one of the most vulnerable locations in the world for piracy.

Numan Paksoy, operations manager for the company, told the BBC that 12 armed men boarded the ship and threatened to "burn the ship and kill all of them."

Officials said the kidnappers have not contacted the shipping company with a ransom demand.

The ship wasn't carrying any freight at the time of the attack.

Turkey's ruling AK Party said it's monitoring the abduction.

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