Italy condemns botched British hostage raid

Italian president Giorgio Napolitano led a chorus of condemnation of Britain’s failure to inform the Italian government before launching a botched rescue mission with Nigerian forces that led to the deaths of British and Italian hostages held by a militant Islamist group.

Chris McManus from Britain and Italian Franco Lamolinara, who were kidnapped in May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria, were killed by their captors during the raid, David Cameron, the British prime minister said.

In the strongest Italian condemnation, Napolitano told reporters: “The behaviour of the British government in not informing Italy is inexplicable.