One person is reported dead after gunmen attacked an oil company convoy in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta region.
In a statement Thursday, the Nigerian unit of U.S.-based ExxonMobil says the attack came late Monday as the convoy moved between the town of Eket and the Qua Iboe oil terminal, in the state of Akwa Ibom.
The company says the victim was not an oil company employee, and his identity has not been determined.
Meanwhile, a private security official in Nigeria says pirates attacked an oil industry vessel earlier today and kidnapped at least two foreign workers.
The security source says the two workers were seized during an attack off the coast of the volatile Niger Delta region. Nigerian police and military were not available for comment.
Kidnappings and attacks on oil facilities are frequent in the Niger Delta, home to Nigeria's oil industry. More than 200 foreigners have been abducted in the region over the last three years. Most have been released unharmed, usually after ransom payments.
Some kidnappings are the work of criminal gangs, while others are carried out by militants who want more oil revenue directed to impoverished locals.
The unrest has caused Nigeria's oil production to drop about 20 percent since 2005.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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