A harrowing scene unfolded in Nigeria on Tuesday when an armed attack on an American convoy left two staffers from the U.S. consulate and two police officers dead, as ABC News reported, citing information from the State Department.

Fox News noted that in addition to the aforementioned deaths, three other individuals were reportedly kidnapped while traveling in a group that was engaged in humanitarian efforts in the West African nation.

The attack occurred in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Nigeria's Anambra State, a part of the country that has been beset by separatist violence, according to a statement issued by the State Department.

According to the press release, the convoy included nine Nigerian nationals, five of whom were employees of the American Mission to Nigeria, and four of whom were with the Nigeria Police Force.

The State Department indicated that while no motive has yet been identified for the attack, there has been no evidence yet to emerge that it was specifically directed toward the American Mission, and no Americans were among the dead.

Fox News noted that a joint security forces team was sent to the scene in the immediate aftermath of the attack but did not arrive until the perpetrators had already made their escape with two of the police officers and a driver.

Tochukwu Ikenga, a police spokesperson from Anambra State, described the incident in stark terms, declaring, “The hoodlums murdered two of the Police Mobile Force operatives and two staff of the consulate, and set their bodies ablaze and their vehicles.”

Words of condemnation were also issued by the State Department, which pledged to “work closely with our Nigerian law enforcement colleagues in seeking to bring those responsible to justice.”

“The United States has no greater priority than the safety and security of our personnel. 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,” the State Department added.

The agency's statement continued, “We deeply value our relationship with our Locally Employed Staff and our partnership with Nigeria.”

“The United States reaffirms its commitment to the people of Nigeria to assist in the fight against violence and insecurity,” the State Department's communication concluded.

The insecurity referenced by the State Department has taken increasingly deadly forms in recent months, as Fox News further notes, particularly in more remote communities within Nigeria.

Also on Tuesday, gunmen were reportedly responsible for other attacks in the country's north-central region, leaving 29 dead.

The night before those incidents took place, gunmen set their sights on three additional villages in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau state, causing dozens of deaths not just through the use of weapons, but also by setting residential homes on fire, and taken together with at least 50 fatalities stemming from two separate attacks that took place in April, it is clear that conditions in some parts of Nigeria are arguably reaching a crisis point.