Two hostages released in Nigeria -security sources

LAGOS, Oct 10 (Reuters) Two oil workers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria, a Colombian and a Filipino, were released overnight in good health after 12 days in captivity, security sources said today.

The two men were seized by gunmen disguised as soldiers from an oil industry construction yard on September 27 in Port Harcourt, the largest city in Nigeria's southern oil heartland. A Colombian colleague was shot dead during the abduction.

''The two expats have been released to government and state security service officials by their abductors. Both expats were in good form,'' a security source said.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

Kidnapping of foreign workers is common in the Niger Delta, where militants complaining of poverty and neglect have launched sustained attacks against Africa's largest oil industry.

But the line between militancy and crime is blurred and most abductions are motivated by the prospect of a ransom.

REUTERS SZ DS1208