Submitted by admin on
After the hostage taking and terrorist attack on an oil and gas installation in the Algerian desert last month there appears to be no let up in the danger to expat workers in that part of the world.
A group that has been linked to the Boko Haram terrorist organisation fighting to to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria has taken 7 expat workers hostage in the northern state of Bauchi.
Ansaru which only emerged in June 2012 has been communicating with journalists since the attack on a group including Greek, Italian and British expats on Sunday.
In an email to journalists the militant Islamic group said it had "the custody of seven persons, which include Lebanese and their European counterparts". The expatriate workers were employed by engineering firm Setraco on a road building project in Nigeria.
The booming oil business has caused an influx of expats working in Nigeria and a subsequent increase in kidnapping for ransom especially by Boko Haram.
Ansaru is thought to be an offshoot of Boko Haram and also committed to imposing Sharia Law right accross Nigeria. It has been declared a terrorist organisation with links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb by the United Kingdom government.
