After being imprisoned for nearly a year, British construction worker Chris McManus, 28, and his colleague 47-year-old engineer Franco Lamolinara, who were both working for an Italian building company, were murdered as a special forces rescue operation, initiated by prime minister David Cameron, got under way.
In Rome, a number of Italian MPs are demanding clarifications about why Italian authorities were in the dark about the operation.
"We must shed full light on the reasons why the British government did not inform our own," said Massimo D'Alema, president of the parliamentary committee for the security of the republic.
Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Senator Lucio Malan said the Italians were not satisfied and wanted to know why they had not been consulted.
"It is quite uncommon that a country that is involved is not informed before. Apparently it was a very difficult situation and it might have been the best decision but it is still to be explained why the Italian authorities haven't been informed," he said.
MP Rosa Calipari said: "It would seem that despite the presence of an Italian who had been in the hands of kidnappers for a long time, our country was told only after the blitz."
Calipari said questions should be asked about why Italian authorities and intelligence officers in Nigeria were not involved in the decision to give the go-ahead for the operation.
The President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, meanwhile sent condolences to Lamolinara's family, saying the country was moved by the death of "one of the multitudes of Italians who bring honour to the country by bringing their best works of creative engineering to the whole world".
Downing Street said that the UK had worked relentlessly to secure safe release of the hostages since their captivity in May 2011 and had been in regular contact with Italian authorities continuously since then.
Government sources confirmed that the hostages were killed once the operation had been "set in train" but it is still unclear how close special forces from the Special Boat Squadron (SBS) were as the two hostages were murdered by terrorists from the northern Nigerian group Boko Haram.
Downing Street batted off claims that they had not kept Italian officials in the loop saying their security personnel had been informed as the operation got under way but added that Cameron's conversation with his Italian counterpart Mario Monti had been delayed as the Italian PM had been in the air as the operation came to its conclusion.
Stunned family and friends in Lamolinara's hometown of Gattinara prepared to declare a day of mourning.
"It was a shock," the mayor, Daniele Baglione, told the Italian news agency ANSA. "We had faith. We didn't expect it." "Franco was well-known and loved in town," Balgione said. "It is a loss for our community."
On Thursday, a grave-looking Cameron announced the death of saying he had authorised the operation in the wake of credible information that their lives were in imminent danger.
The special forces rescue operation, also supported by the Nigerian army, had been recommended by UK intelligence following meetings of the government's emergency committee, Cobra.
The operation may have taken place in Sokoto, a city that has been a home for members of Boko Haram who recently claimed responsibility for a series of deadly church bombings during the Christmas period.
A Nigerian official said intelligence leading to the location of the captives came after the Nigerian secret service raided a Boko Haram hideout in the state of Kaduna. That operation yielded information that the two hostages were being held in Sokoto. The hostage-takers retaliated shortly afterwards by murdering both men, according to the source.
Nigerian security agents have been receiving intelligence training from western countries with years of experience in handling terrorism, including the US and the UK.
Military sources say the training would normally start to show results within 18 to 24 months, about the time since foreign countries began technical assistance to tackle Boko Haram.
A group known as "al-Qaida in the land beyond the Sahel" claimed in December that it had captured McManus. The group released a video showing a blindfolded and bearded man in an orange vest. Three men in dark clothing stood behind him armed with rifles and a machete.
A statement on behalf of the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, commended the "co-operation and understanding of the British and Italian governments" and assured that "the perpetrators of the murderous act, who have all been arrested", would be made to face "the full wrath of the law".
The operation was led by the SBS including some Royal Marines, with as many as 20 UK forces personnel involved.
An SBS unit tried to free the men "after a window of opportunity presented itself", said an official familiar with the incident. A Whitehall source described the men's captors as among the "nastiest al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists there are".
Speaking on Thursday Cameron said: "Our immediate thoughts must be with Chris and Franco's families, and we offer them our sincerest condolences. Both families have endured a terrible ordeal, and this is a devastating moment for all of them."
He explained: "After months of not knowing where they were being held, we received credible information about their location. A window of opportunity arose to secure their release.
"We also had reason to believe that their lives were under imminent and growing danger. Preparations were made to mount an operation to attempt to rescue Chris and Franco. Together with the Nigerian government, today I authorised it to go ahead, with UK support."
"I also want to pay tribute to all those, including UK personnel, who worked so hard to try to bring Chris home safely. I am very sorry that this ended so tragically," Cameron added.
"Terrorism and appalling crimes such as these are a scourge on our world. No one should be in any doubt about our determination to fight and to defeat them."
Local reports suggested that the military surrounded a house in the city and there had been sounds of gunfire for much of the afternoon.
Gunfire continued into the night as the military fought with those in Sokoto. Ambulances ferried the wounded. Security forces erected a cordon blocking journalists from getting within a kilometre of the site.
Cameron visited Nigeria last July, months after the hostage capture, and will have discussed the issue with Jonathan. No briefing was given on the hostage position at the time to the journalists accompanying the prime minister, a sign of the extent to which the Foreign Office hoped McManus could be freed without publicity.
McManus's family said in a statement: "We are of course devastated by the news of Chris's death, which we received earlier today. During this ordeal we have relied heavily on the support of our family and friends which has never waned and has enabled us to get through the most difficult of times.
"We are also aware of the many people who were working to try and have Chris returned to our family, and his girlfriend. We would like to thank all of them for their efforts. We knew Chris was in an extremely dangerous situation. However, we knew that everything that could be done was being done.
"Our thoughts are also of course with the loved ones of Chris's colleague, Franco Lamolinara, who are also coming to terms with this truly sad news.
"We now need time to grieve and come to terms with our loss. We would therefore be grateful if you would respect our privacy at this most difficult of times."
Lamolinara had worked in Africa for many years, but returned to Italy 10 years ago before undertaking a further job with an Italian company, Stabilini Visinoni, based in Nigeria. He was said to have been captured on the last day of his contract. The men had been involved in building the central bank in Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi state.
Monti took the phone call from Cameron on a plane trip back to Rome from Belgrade. Monti said: "An unpredicted acceleration of events took place over the last hours. While fearing an imminent danger for the hostages, Nigerian authorities activated the rescue."
Lamolinara leaves behind a wife and two children, an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/09/nigeria-hostages-italians-demand-answers
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