Christians Under Attack

David Cameron authorised the operation on Thursday morning after being informed that the hostages, whose location had only recently been discovered, were at risk of being moved and murdered. This followed demands from the kidnappers for the Nigerian government to release prisoners.

“Their demands kept changing,” an intelligence source said. “They wanted the release of prisoners by the Nigerian government but could not work out which prisoners these were and this kept changing. We had intercepted telephone calls that suggested the hostages were about to be moved and killed.”

In London, the Cobra committee which includes the Prime Minister and oversees national security operations met to monitor the situation. The Director of Special Forces was in constant contact with the SBS commanding officer and other intelligence agencies, including MI6. The Government’s listening service at GCHQ Cheltenham used mobile phone and satellite technology to inform the commandos of the hostages’ position. Backed up by Nigerian forces, the SBS team launched the raid at 10am British time. Despite killing at least two of the terrorists, they were unable to prevent other kidnappers murdering Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara. The raid led to a lengthy firefight between jihadists and the British and Nigerian forces.

The Prime Minister is understood to have learnt that the rescue attempt had failed late on Thursday morning and informed Mr McManus’s family. Mr Cameron also informed his Italian counterpart, who had not been warned, that the operation was under way.

Mr 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.

“The Foreign Office have been in regular contact with the McManus family since Chris’s capture. I spoke to them just before Christmas and I have spoken to them again with the news this afternoon.”

In a statement, the McManus family said: “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.”

Mr McManus, a contract worker for the construction company B Stabilini, was kidnapped in May last year. Northern Nigeria has become known for the activities of Boko Haram, an Islamic group blamed for killing almost 200 Christians in a church in the area last Christmas.

Gunmen stormed his apartment in Birnin-Kebbi, in the north west, and captured him with Mr Lamolinara. A German colleague escaped by scaling a wall but a Nigerian engineer was shot and wounded. The men were building a bank.

In December last year, a Nigerian group calling itself “al-Qaeda in the land beyond the Sahil”, announced it had captured Mr McManus.

It released a hostage video claiming it had kidnapped the Briton and showed a blindfolded and bearded man wearing a replica Manchester United football shirt. Three men in dark clothing stood behind him armed with rifles and a machete.

It was reported that the man pictured in the video called for the British Government to respond to the demands of the group, so they would spare his life, but the demands were not disclosed.

British officials had worked intensively to garner information about the men’s whereabouts and the Cobra committee met about 20 times to discuss the case. However, the intensive activity was hidden from the public to deny the “oxygen of publicity” to the terrorist group.

Mr Cameron said: “The terrorists holding the two hostages made very clear threats to take their lives, including in a video that was posted on the internet. 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.”

The Daily Telegraph understands that between 16 and 20 members of the commando unit were involved in the rescue. After the raid, soldiers were said to have surrounded a house in the city. Gunfire continued into the night and ambulances took away the wounded. On Thursday night, there were reports that some of the terrorists had been injured or killed.

Military leaders will face questions about the rescue operation.

Italy’s prime minister, Mario Monti, asked Nigeria’s president to provide a “detailed reconstruction” of events leading to the hostage deaths.

Senior British military sources said: “This has not been a good day but that should not take away from the fact that it was properly scoped, intelligence-driven operation that our special forces undertook. You can be the best in the world and still be unlucky.

“This operation was the best opportunity for a successful conclusion and everyone is mortified it went wrong.”

A number of foreigners have been kidnapped in Nigeria in recent years. In September 2008 two Britons were held by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.

A Scottish oil worker was abducted and his guard killed in April 2009, in Port Harcourt. Three Britons and a Colombian were kidnapped in January 2010 and in November of the same year, four men from the US, Canada and France were abducted from the Okoro oilfield.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/