British, Italian Hostages Die in Failed Nigeria Rescue

One British and one Italian hostage held in Nigeria have been killed during a rescue attempt by Nigerian and UK forces, British Prime Minister David Cameron said today. Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara, both engineers, were captured in northern Nigeria in May. Cameron says it looks as if both hostages "were murdered by their captors before they could be rescued."

The UK leader said that British authorities believed the men's lives were in "imminent and growing danger" and a rescue attempt was mounted by Nigerian forces with British support. Italian Premier Mario Monti said Cameron had conveyed the news to him by telephone, saying Nigerian and British authorities had determined the operation was the "last window of opportunity to save the hostages' lives." The BBC has more details. (More hostages stories.)