Lagos

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Soldiers raided three militant camps Wednesday hidden in the winding creeks of Nigeria's oil-rich and restive southern delta, seizing heavy weaponry in an attack rebels claimed killed more than 100 people.

The attack started Wednesday afternoon in Delta state, an oil-producing state in the middle of Niger Delta, military spokesman Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha said.

Militants in the Niger Delta have attacked pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company employees and fought government troops since 2006. The attacks cut drastically into crude production in Nigeria, an OPEC-member nation that is crucial to U.S. oil supplies. Production has risen back to 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, in part due to many militant leaders and fighters accepting the amnesty deal.