YAOUNDE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Suspected pirates have conducted an attack on a Cameroonian military patrol in the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, Chief of General Staff of the armed forces Major-General Rene Ze Meka has announced, terming the incident as "unfortunate."

    "Out of the nine Cameroonian military officers, who were on board the boat conducting a docking maneuver, in the Bakassi Peninsula, six were abducted by the assailants during the attack," said the army chief in a statement published Tuesday.

    The nine people, according to the statement, included the deputy prefect of the borough of Kombo in the Bakassi peninsula, a senior officer of the Cameroonian army, and 7 other elements of the defense and security forces.

    "While approaching a fishing vessel and during docking, a group of heavily-armed pirates operating from the adjacent land opened fire on the military boat," said the statement without giving any further details.

    Three Cameroonian soldiers, including one who sustained serious injuries during the attack, managed to escape by diving into the water, the statement said, adding: "The six other occupants of theboat were captured by the assailants who took them to an unknown direction, at the same time carrying weapons and the boat."

    The area has bee sealed off and elements of Cameroonian forces are continuing with their investigations and have launched several search parties to track down the attackers and win the freedom of the hostages, according to the same source.

    "This attack is part of the recurring acts of piracy in both the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea," said the Cameroonian army chief in the statement, adding that the matter was a source of great concern not only to governments within the region but also to the international community.

    Other similar attacks, said the army chief, had been reported recently in the oil-rich region, where an act of instability is enough to send world crude oil prices on an upward swing to the detriment of consumers.

    Nigeria's Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea, two oil and gas-rich regions in West Africa, have recently become a source of great concern to the international community following the observation of a worrying trend whereby groups of sea pirates and robbers are increasingly conducting attacks against oil and fish vessels.

    The escalation of the situation has prompted governments across the region to come together in a bid to secure what can be described as "the livelihood of the sub-region," according to maritime observers.