5 killed in attack on Navy ship in Nigeria

A Nigerian military official says armed men have attacked a naval houseboat in the oil-rich south, sparking a gunfight that killed at least five people.

Regional army chief Chris Musa says 30 suspected militants attacked the vessel around 1:30 am on Wednesday. The boat was housing about 20 naval officers assigned to protect the oil infrastructure in the country's restive south.

Musa says three of the attackers; a naval officer and a civilian were killed in the two-hour gun battle. No oil installations appear to have been affected.

Militant attacks on oil industry infrastructure in the past two years have slashed Nigeria's oil output by almost a quarter, helping push worldwide crude prices to historic highs.