A foreign hostage in Nigeria died of an illness Sunday while being taken to a hospital for treatment, community leaders said, according to AP. The man, whose nationality wasn't known, succumbed after he had been released to state officials by the hostage takers but before he reached the treatment center, said Joseph Benemiesia, a prominent community leader and member of a government team trying to calm the restive Niger Delta. Further details weren't immediately available. Some 150 foreigners have been taken captive this year alone amid a general rise in lawlessness across southern Nigeria, where the crude is pumped in Africa's biggest producer. About a half dozen are known to still be in captivity.
