NIGERIAN troops stormed an Italian-operated oil facility overnight and said they killed 12 militants to free 10 Nigerian hostages who had been held for five days.
Earlier reports said 27 were rescued, however, the whereabouts of 17 hostages was unknown after the operation in the Niger Delta state of Bayelsa, Major Omale Ochaguba said.
Twelve militants were killed and four soldiers wounded in the early morning raid on the flow station run by the Italian firm Agip, the major said.
Nine civilians and one soldier among the hostages were rescued.
The major denied reports by local residents that a number of soldiers were killed as the plant was stormed.
Residents of the Bayelsa capital Yenagoa reported troops were deployed in the city overnight, leading people to believe state authorities expected a reprisal attack.
Militants attacked the station at Ogbainbiri on Monday, seizing 16 oil workers and 11 soldiers guarding the facility.
Kidnappings and armed attacks have intensified in Nigeria's oil-rich south where 200 foreigners and scores of local workers have been abducted since the start of 2006.
The attackers mainly belong to militant groups calling for a greater share of oil wealth for the provinces where it is produced. The bulk of the revenues go to the federal government.
The release last week of one prominent militant leader, Mujahid Asari Dokubo of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVD), had increased hopes that violence in the delta region would abate.
Dokubo had been detained for two years on treason charges, and most of the armed groups in the region have cited his release as their number one condition for stopping the violence.
But one oil and gas analyst said his release may not have an immediate effect.
"I think Dokubo's going to have a hard time of it ending the violence. Since he went to jail a lot of these local commanders have got used to doing things their own way," the analyst said.
The unrest has forced Nigeria to cut crude oil production in the Niger Delta by around 25 per cent.
The military often maintain an ambiguous relationship with the armed groups they are theoretically meant to be fighting.
Analysts cite cases of military commanders involved in the illegal sale offshore of stolen crude oil and using boys from armed groups as guides in the delta creeks.
Ill-paid soldiers are reluctant to risk their lives fighting the militants and very often remove their uniforms and run at the first sign of an attack, analysts and industry sources said.
Eni reported that 40 soldiers and eight civilians "escaped" during Monday's attack on the flow station.
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