Kidnappers Attack Plant, Navy Ship

Militants holding nine foreign hostages in southern Nigeria attacked another oil facility today and blew up a military vessel in ongoing violence that has cut about 20 percent of crude production in Africa's oil giant. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta attacked a Shell-operated pipeline switching station and a navy vessel in the oil-rich southern region. Nigeria is reeling from weekend attacks in which militants blasted pipelines and sabotaged a key oil loading terminal belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, forcing the company to halt the flow of about 455,000 barrels a day. (Source: Scotsman)