Nigerian troops have rescued 19 hostages kidnapped by militants in the Niger Delta this month, officials say.
Two Americans, two Frenchmen, two Indonesians and a Canadian were freed along with 12 Nigerians in a land, air and sea assault, said officials.
Security sources told the BBC the freed hostages were euphoric.
The operation was the first successful rescue of foreign captives in the Delta without any of the hostages being killed in the process.
It is not clear exactly where the operation was carried out, nor whether any militants were killed or wounded.
The foreigners were captured on 8 November, when gunmen attacked an oil rig belonging to London-based Alfren PLC.
The eight Nigerians were seized on an ExxonMobil platform in Akwa Ibom state a week later, in an attack claimed by Mend, a military group operating in the Delta.
Canada and France have both expressed their relief that the citizens are free and thanked the Nigerian authorities for their efforts.
The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says the rescue operation marks a change in tactics by the Nigerian military, who worked in close co-operation with local contacts to free the captives.
BBC News
