Gunmen attacked a U.S. convoy in Ogbaru district of Anambra state, Nigeria on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, killing four non-Americans and kidnapping three others, official sources said.
"No U.S. citizens were in the convoy," said Nigerian police spokesman Ikenga Tochukwu, who was confirmed by White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The gunmen "killed two police mobile force officers and two U.S. consulate employees" before setting their vehicle on fire, Tochukwu said.
Security forces were deployed to the scene but the gunmen managed to kidnap two police officers and a driver, Tochukwu detailed.
Several separatist groups are active in the southeastern region and have recently stepped up their attacks, usually targeting police and government buildings.
Nigerian authorities attribute the attacks to the Indigenous People's Movement of Biafra (IPOB), which they consider a terrorist group, along with its armed wing the Eastern Security Network.
Ipob has repeatedly denied any involvement in the violence.
Separatism is a sensitive issue in Nigeria, where an attempt by army officers to secede from Biafra in 1967 sparked three years of civil war that left more than a million people dead.
Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu is currently in detention and is due to appear in court on charges of treason after being detained abroad and then brought back to Nigeria.
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