PORT HARCOURT (Nigeria), May 23: Two foreigners, one Pakistani and one Maltese, working for an oil services company were kidnapped in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria on Friday, police and security sources said.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where militants have launched a campaign of violence to press for local control of the region’s natural resources.

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in violence in the region since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.—Reuters