Police in Nigeria have successfully rescued two kidnapped US embassy staff without any harm after a recent attack that claimed the lives of seven other individuals who were traveling in the same convoy.
The attack took place on Tuesday in the district of Ogbaru, located in the south-eastern part of the country. This particular area has been placed under a curfew for the past year due to safety concerns.
According to a local official, the assailants opened fire on the vehicles and set them ablaze, resulting in the victims being burnt beyond recognition.
The identity of the gunmen remains unclear at this time. However, some officials have attributed the attack to Igbo separatist fighters associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), a group known to operate in the region. Ipob has not responded to these allegations as of yet.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who leaves office later this month after pledging and failing to end Nigeria’s security crisis, says his government is “committed to fishing out” the culprits behind Tuesday’s attack.
No US citizen was among the victims and there are “no indications at this time that it was targeted against our mission”, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Of the seven people killed on Tuesday, three were Nigerian staff at the US embassy and four were security escorts. The two people who were abducted, then released, have not been publicly identified by police.
“Operations are still ongoing and further details shall be communicated,” says Anambra state police spokesman Ikenga Tochukwu.