By Estelle Shirbon
ABUJA (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped a German constructionworker, killing a Nigerian driver and two soldiers escortinghim on Tuesday in the oil producing Niger Delta in southernNigeria, security sources said.
It was the first kidnapping of a foreigner since lastOctober in the delta, where abductions for ransom are common.Over 200 foreigners have been seized in an upsurge of violencesince early 2006 and almost all have been released unharmed.
Violence in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oilindustry which produces 2.1 million barrels per day, has beenone of the causes of record high oil prices in world markets.
The German man seized on Tuesday works for German-Nigerianconstruction group Julius Berger, an arm of Bilfinger BergerAG, said a company source who declined to be named.
"One expat (foreign resident) was abducted by armedcriminals on the east-west road between Rumuji and Emuoha areasof Port Harcourt at about 11 a.m. (10 p.m. British time)today," said a security expert working for a foreign company,who requested anonymity.
Security sources said two soldiers and a driver were killedand one soldier was seriously hurt with gunshot wounds.
An army spokesman confirmed a foreigner had been abductedbut had no further details.
The east-west road links Port Harcourt, the delta's maincity located in Rivers state, to Warri, the capital of Deltastate located further west. Julius Berger is upgrading the roadand it has a construction site near Emuoha.
The area is a short distance from Port Harcourt, which hasbeen the epicentre of violence and kidnappings in the two-yearcrisis in the Niger Delta.
Militants demanding greater local control of oil revenuesfor impoverished residents have blown up oil productionfacilities and kidnapped oil workers, forcing the closure of afifth of output from the OPEC member.
But violence has spiralled out of control, with copy-catcriminal gangs abducting both foreigners and Nigerians formoney. Thousands of foreign workers have been evacuated fromthe region and those who remain live under tight security.
Tuesday's abduction comes at a time when delta militantshave been considering whether to persist with peace talks thatwere launched by President Umaru Yar'Adua, who came to powerlast May.
The talks were one of the reasons for a lull in violence inthe past few months, but militant leaders have expressedgrowing impatience with the slow pace of negotiations. Somehave accused the government of insincerity.
Sascha Bamberger, a spokesman for Bilfinger Berger in theGerman city of Mannheim, said the company was aware of reportsof the possible kidnapping of one of its workers and wasinvestigating.
"We are in close contact with the authorities in Germanyand Nigeria," he said, adding that workers from the firm hadbeen targeted in the past but had all been released unharmed.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say onthe top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
(Additional reporting by Austin Ekeinde in Port Harcourtand Iain Rogers in Berlin; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editingby Sami Aboudi)
