UPDATE 2-Nigeria militants seek to free German hostages

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By Randy Fabi

ABUJA, July 20 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta said on Sunday it would seek the release of two German construction workers kidnapped by armed gunmen more than a week ago.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has led a campaign of violence against oil facilities since early 2006, said it would intervene because the pair were not part of the energy sector but were working to help build the delta's infrastructure.

"MEND has located and identified the culprits and will begin negotiating with the kidnappers in the hope for a safe and unconditional release of the captives," the group's spokesman, who uses the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo, said in an e-mailed statement.

Unidentified gunmen on July 11 kidnapped the two employees of Nigeria's biggest construction firm Julius Berger JUBR.LG, a unit of Germany's Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), near the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt.

Around 15 gunmen ambushed the convoy of armoured jeeps by blowing one of the vehicles off the road with dynamite and killing a soldier.

The kidnapping prompted the company to suspend its operations in the Niger Delta, the heart of oil production in the world's eighth largest exporter.

Among other projects, Julius Berger is rebuilding the main east-west road across the Niger Delta and is one of Nigeria's biggest private sector employers, with more than 16,000 staff.