Agence France-Presse
LAGOS - The Nigerian military said Thursday it had thwarted an attack on an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, killing two assailants in the process.
"We repelled an attack by militants on the Alakiri flow station where two of the attackers were killed," said Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir, army spokesman for the oil-rich but restive Niger Delta in southern Nigeria.
He said the attempted attack had taken place early Thursday.
Shell was not immediately available for comment.
The attack comes after the most prominent armed group in Nigeria on Wednesday threatened more acts of sabotage against the nation's oil industry.
The group earlier this month claimed responsibility for an attack on Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell.
Shell confirmed the attack on its oil delivery lines.
MEND emerged in early 2006 as the leading group calling for a greater share of Nigeria's oil revenue for the producer region. It has carried out a series of deadly attacks in recent months.
The group has also been responsible for the seizure of local and expatriate workers as hostages, though they are normally released unharmed.
Overall, violence in the Niger Delta has reduced Nigeria's total oil production by a quarter in the past two years.