Assailants attack U.S. convoy in Nigeria, killing 4

May 18 (UPI) -- Unknown assailants attacked a U.S. government convoy in Nigeria, killing at least four people and leaving five others missing, Biden administration officials said.

The attack occurred Tuesday afternoon in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, located in southeastern Nigeria.

Blinken said in a statement Wednesday that the two-vehicle convoy was attacked as five employees of the U.S. embassy in Nigeria and four members of the Nigerian Police Force were making their way to Anambra in advance of a planned visit by mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project.

At least four people were killed, Blinken said, with State Department principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel telling reporters during a press briefing in Washington that the five others were unaccounted for.

"We do not yet know the motive for the attack, but we have no indications at this time that it was targeted against our mission," Blinken said.

"U.S. mission personnel are working urgently with Nigerian counterparts to ascertain the location and condition of the members of the convoy who are unaccounted for."

It was unclear how many of those killed were members of the U.S. embassy or of the Nigerian police force, Patel said.

"That is information that we are still trying to ascertain," he said.

The attack came hours after Blinken spoke with Nigerian President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu. A readout of the call said they had discussed further strengthening of the U.S.-Nigerian relationship.

A day earlier, the United States imposed visa bans against unidentified people who are accused with having interfered in Nigeria's Feb. 25 election.

Patel reiterated to reporters that the Biden administration has "no reason to believe that this convoy was targeted because of its connection to the U.S. mission or because of its connection to the embassy or anything like that, though an investigation continues."

He added that embassy personnel have made "multiple trips" to Anambra in recent months without experiencing any security situations.

"And at the time that the decision was made to travel there for this advance route, there were no known threats to the U.S. mission in Nigeria," he said.

The United States will work with their Nigerian law enforcement partners to ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the secretary of state said.

"The United States has no greater priority than the safety and security of our personnel," he said. "We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, and pledge to do everything possible to safely recover those who remain missing."