Nigerian army says two U.S. oil workers killed in Nigeria's delta

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) _ A speedboat full of gunmen fired on a boat carrying oil workers in Nigeria's violence-wracked delta region, killing two Americans, the army said Saturday. <br><br>Nigerian army

Saturday, April 24th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) _ A speedboat full of gunmen fired on a boat carrying oil workers in Nigeria's violence-wracked delta region, killing two Americans, the army said Saturday.

Nigerian army spokesman Maj. Said Ahmed said the workers were killed Friday evening in the Niger Delta, where the bulk of the country's oil is pumped.

Ahmed did not identify the men or their employer, saying ``details are still sketchy.''

However, U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco confirmed that two American contractors were missing along with four Nigerians _ two navy soldiers and two boatmen _ in what the firm said was an ``unprovoked attack'' at 5 p.m. Friday on the Benin River, south of the oil city of Warri.

The company had ``no conclusive proof'' yet the two missing Americans are dead, company spokesman Deji Haastrup said.

A third American, a ChevronTexaco employee, was in stable condition in a hospital with gunshot wounds, Haastrup said.