BREAKING: U.S. Convoy Attacked in Nigeria, Multiple Casualties

An American convoy was reportedly attacked in Nigeria on Tuesday, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

Local authorities said the attack left four people dead and three others abducted.

The gunmen reportedly attacked a U.S. diplomatic convoy in southeast Nigeria’s Anambra State.

American and Nigerian officials said no U.S. citizens were in the convoy.

“It does look like a U.S. convoy vehicles was attacked. What I can tell you is that no U.S. citizens were involved. And therefore there were no U.S. citizens hurt,” Kirby reportedly said.

WATCH:

US Convoy attacked in Nigeria, several dead, @WhiteHouse John Kirby said no US citizens were hurt, well still people were killed when a US convoy was hit in #Nigeria. WATCHhttps://t.co/NZq96B2BDo pic.twitter.com/bRVmSOcj9m

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 16, 2023

The Guardian reported:

The gunmen “murdered two of the police mobile force operatives and two staff of the consulate”, before setting their vehicle on fire in the attack on Tuesday, said police spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu.

“No US citizen was in the convoy,” he said.

Security forces deployed to the scene, said Tochukwu, but the gunmen managed to abduct two police operatives and a driver.

A “rescue/recovery operation” was underway Tuesday evening, he added in his statement.

2 US consulate staffers, 2 policemen in Nigeria shot, killed in attack on convoy https://t.co/nxdNk4ScOV pic.twitter.com/cx2XMrsJKi

— New York Post (@nypost) May 17, 2023

The New York Post added:

The group was on a humanitarian mission when they were attacked in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of the country’s Anambra State, one of the epicenters of separatist violence in the region, said Tochukwu Ikenga, a police spokesman in Anambra.

Ikenga said no U.S. citizen was on the trip.

“We confirm there was an incident May 16 in Anambra state. Mission Nigeria personnel are working with Nigerian security services to investigate,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

“The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field. We have no further comment at this time.”