Thursday, March 8, 2012

Italian, British hostages killed in failed Nigeria rescue

An Italian and a British hostage kidnapped in May in Nigeria were killed today by their captors during a joint raid by British and Nigerian forces in an operation to free them, Italy's government said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to inform him of the "tragic conclusion" of the operation, a statement said.

The joint forces intervened to free Italian Franco Lamolino and Briton Christopher McManus because “they were fearful that their lives were under threat”, the statement said.

According to the British newspaper ‘The Telegraph’, the hostages were killed in a “Special Boat Service operation.”

The paper reported that last December a Nigerian group calling itself 'Al Qaeda in the land beyond the Sahil' announced it had captured the men.

The BBC reported today the two hostages were "murdered by their captors before they could be rescued."

The British and Italian citizens had been involved in the construction of the headquarters for the state’s Central Bank.