LAGOS, March 14 (Reuters) - Gunmen attacked an oil services vessel off the coast of Cameroon close to Nigerian waters on Saturday, kidnapping one Ukrainian and three Filipino crew members, security sources in Nigeria said.
Two security contractors said around 30 suspected Nigerian militants in speedboats attacked the MV Sil Tide in the early hours of Saturday morning around 14 km (9 miles) from the coast of Bakassi, on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
'Around five shots were fired. One person was injured and they got the three Filipinos and the Ukrainian,' one of the security sources, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Both sources said the attack happened in Cameroonian waters. One said the vessel was under Cameroonian naval escort.
Attacks on oil vessels are common off Nigeria's Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, but gunmen from the region have increasingly struck beyond Nigerian waters.
The Cameroonian navy could not immediately be reached for comment. Spokesmen for the Nigerian navy and for the military taskforce patrolling the Niger Delta said they could not immediately confirm the incident.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ )
(Reporting by Nick Tattersall) Keywords: CAMEROON NIGERIA/KIDNAPPING (Reuters messaging: nicholas.tattersall.reuters.com@reuters.net, Lagos Newsroom +234 1 463 0257) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Two security contractors said around 30 suspected Nigerian militants in speedboats attacked the MV Sil Tide in the early hours of Saturday morning around 14 km (9 miles) from the coast of Bakassi, on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
'Around five shots were fired. One person was injured and they got the three Filipinos and the Ukrainian,' one of the security sources, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Both sources said the attack happened in Cameroonian waters. One said the vessel was under Cameroonian naval escort.
Attacks on oil vessels are common off Nigeria's Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, but gunmen from the region have increasingly struck beyond Nigerian waters.
The Cameroonian navy could not immediately be reached for comment. Spokesmen for the Nigerian navy and for the military taskforce patrolling the Niger Delta said they could not immediately confirm the incident.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ )
(Reporting by Nick Tattersall) Keywords: CAMEROON NIGERIA/KIDNAPPING (Reuters messaging: nicholas.tattersall.reuters.com@reuters.net, Lagos Newsroom +234 1 463 0257) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.