Gunmen kidnap six Filipinos

Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped six Filipino workers during an attack on an oil service vessel in the Niger Delta, security sources said yesterday.

A speedboat carrying 12 gunmen attacked the vessel and took six hostages, including the boat's captain and two engineers, two sources said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The vessel was attacked in between Port Harcourt and Bonny," said a private security source, who asked not to be named. More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the heart of Nigeria's oil sector, since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

In a separate incident, gunmen yesterday released a Briton kidnapped more than two weeks ago in southern Nigeria.