Nigerian military freed 19 hostages including 7 foreigners

Nigerian military freed 19 hostages including 7 foreigners

2010-11-18 07:03:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

ABUJA, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- The Nigerian military on Wednesday freed the 19 individuals, including 7 foreigners, who were held captive by militants in the Niger Delta.

The rescue was made in a land, air and field operation that successfully freed the 19 hostages, including two Americans, two French, two Indonesians and a Canadian. The hostages were kidnapped this month from an Afren oil rig.

The military operation also freed eight Nigerian staff workers abducted from an Exxon Mobil platform and four other individuals.

The Nigeria’s military declined to provide details of the operation but informed that several operations were conducted simultaneously across the Niger Delta.

Reportedly, former militant leaders who accepted an amnesty last year, provided information that were instrumental in securing the safety of the operation and the hostages as well.

"There was a strong element of cooperation between the former militant leadership and the security forces in the release of the 19 hostages," a security official said. “What happened today in Nigeria has never happened before. It shows the strength not only of the security forces but of the former militant leadership and the amnesty program.â€

On November 11, three French men were freed in Nigeria after being kidnapped for two months. The individuals are employees of Bourbon, France's offshore services company, and were working at an oil platform off the coast of Nigeria when they were abducted. The men were found with good health despite the difficult conditions while in captivity.

Nigeria has witnessed many abductions on foreign citizens that are working in the vast wetlands region, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-18