LAGOS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Militants from Nigeria's oil-producing delta are planning to expand their attacks on foreign nationals beyond the Niger Delta region, the U.S. consulate said in a warning on Friday. The warning contained no details on where the next attacks could occur, but said they could include expatriate workers, Western businesses and places of leisure. "The U.S. government has learned that a militant Niger Delta group is reportedly planning to escalate its activities in regions beyond its previous primary target areas in the delta," the consulate said in an email to U.S. citizens. "Possible targets could include expatriate personnel, Western businesses or facilities and locales visited by tourists and foreigners in other regions of Nigeria." Violence by militants and criminal groups has escalated in the Niger Delta over the past year, and kidnappings of foreign workers has become an almost weekly occurrence in the main delta city of Port Harcourt. Seven foreign nationals are being held and Nigerian oil production is still down by a fifth since a series of militant attacks on Western oil facilities last February.
