ABUJA: At least two employees of the US embassy and two police officers were killed after a convoy came under attack in southeast Nigeria.
According to AL Jazeera, unidentified gunmen also kidnapped three individuals, a driver and two police officers after they ambushed the convoy near Atani in Nigeria’s Anambra State.
Ikenga Tochukwu, a police spokesperson in Anambra, said a rescue and recovery effort was under way.
“The hoodlums murdered two operatives of the Police Mobile Force and two employees of the consulate and set their bodies and their vehicles on fire,” the spokesperson said, adding that the location was known for violence by separatists.
He expressed regret the convoy chose to “enter the state without recourse to the police in the place or any security agency.” Law enforcement, he said, arrived after the attackers escaped.
At a press briefing at the White House, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said: “It does look like the United States convoy vehicle was attacked.”
“I can tell you that no US people were involved, and therefore there’re no US people hurt,” Kirby said. He indicated that the US was aware of the casualties, though.
The US State Department later said that its diplomatic staff was “working with Nigerian security authorities to investigate the incident.”
“The security of our personnel is paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field,” the State Department said.
