Lagos - Nigerian troops killed two militants in a river clash with insurgents in the volatile oil-rich Niger Delta, an army spokesperson said on Friday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir said two AK 47 rifles and ammunitions were recovered from the militants during the clash on boats off Cawthorn channel off Bonny island on Thursday.

He said the Nigerian army, which is deployed to protect key oil facilities, suffered no casualties.

Last week, one soldier was wounded when government troops clashed with militants around the Bonny river, where there is a multi-billion-dollar natural liquefied gas plant.

Since the beginning of 2006, militant attacks have cut Nigeria's oil output by more than one quarter. Production currently veers between 1,8 and two million barrels a day against 2,6-million barrels a day two years ago.