Italy hostages freed in Nigeria

Militants have made an industry out of kidnapping in the Niger Delta

Militants in Nigeria have freed two Italians kidnapped last week, Italy's foreign ministry has said.

The two men, employees of construction giant Imreglio, were kidnapped by gunmen near the main oil city of Port Harcourt on Friday.

Over the last 12 months, more than 100 foreign workers have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, Africa's largest oil-producing region.

This has led to oil exports from the area falling by 20%.

An Italian foreign ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency that the men, Lucio Moro and Luciano Passarin, "were released a short time ago."

They were kidnapped when gunmen stormed the Impreglio offices, about 40km (25 miles) from Port Harcourt and took them away.

The incident resulted in the Italian foreign ministry calling on all Italian companies operating in the Niger Delta to withdraw expatriate staff from the region.