is being planned at a militant camp in Ajakaja in Rivers state Musa said

(Adds militant statement, details) By Nick Tattersall LAGOS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on at least two oil vessels at Nigeria's Bonny crude oil loading platform late on Saturday, kidnapping six crew members in what the country's main militant group said was meant as a warning to the industry. The gunmen initially shot at an oil tanker at the facility, operated by Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) SPDC joint venture with Nigerian state oil firm NNPC, but were unable to board it. They then attacked a tugboat, the Lamnalco Waxbill, later found drifting with its crew apparently abducted, industry security sources said. One crew member on the boat was believed to have been killed by gunfire, one of the sources said. But it said the attack, which comes as the military tries to flush out suspected militant leaders from the creeks of the Niger Delta, did not mean the end of a unilateral ceasefire it declared in September. "We can confirm there was an attack on two vessels, a tanker and a support vessel, at SPDC's crude loading platform at Bonny, Rivers state, last night," a spokeswoman for Shell said, but added that none of the vessels involved belonged to the company.

NIGERIAN CREW MISSING One crew member on the Lamnalco Waxbill was believed to have been killed by gunfire, an industry security source said, while a second had jumped into the water and was unaccounted for Six others, all Nigerian, were abducted, he said. Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the joint military task force, confirmed a Nigerian crew was missing. "Their whereabouts are not yet known, but we will get them out," he said He said there was no damage to Shell facilities at Bonny. MEND, which has been holding two British oil workers hostage for four months, warned last week that it would attack military targets in the region in retaliation for the killing of a suspected militant gang member by the security forces. Musa said soldiers from the navy and army had raided a militant camp in Rivers state in the Niger Delta over the weekend in search of top militant leaders. "Intelligence has indicated that most kidnapping cases, sea piracy and armed robbery ...

is being planned at a militant camp in Ajakaja in Rivers state," Musa said.(Additional reporting by Austin Ekeinde in Port Harcourt, Randy Fabi in Abuja; Editing by Peter Millership). (Adds militant statement, details) Stocks By Nick Tattersall LAGOS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on at least twooil vessels at Nigeria's Bonny crude oil loading platform lateon Saturday, kidnapping six crew members in what the country'smain militant group said was meant as a warning to the industry. The gunmen initially shot at an oil tanker at the facility,operated by Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) SPDC joint venture withNigerian state oil firm NNPC, but were unable to board it. They then attacked a tugboat, the Lamnalco Waxbill, laterfound drifting with its crew apparently abducted, industrysecurity sources said.

One crew member on the boat was believedto have been killed by gunfire, one of the sources said. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND),whose attacks on oil industry facilities have closed down arounda fifth of Nigerian production over the past three years, saidits affiliates had carried out the raid "The central command okayed the attack," the group said. "The intent is to send a clear message to the oil companiesto disregard any assurances from the military that they canprovide security due to their acquisition of more militaryhardware," it said in an email sent to Reuters. But it said the attack, which comes as the military tries toflush out suspected militant leaders from the creeks of theNiger Delta, did not mean the end of a unilateral ceasefire itdeclared in September. NIGERIAN CREW MISSING One crew member on the Lamnalco Waxbill was believed to havebeen killed by gunfire, an industry security source said, whilea second had jumped into the water and was unaccounted for Sixothers, all Nigerian, were abducted, he said. Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the jointmilitary task force, confirmed a Nigerian crew was missing. "Their whereabouts are not yet known, but we will get themout," he said He said there was no damage to Shell facilitiesat Bonny.