10 March 2013 Last updated at 09:45 ET
Italy's government says it believes claims by a Nigerian militant group that it has killed seven foreign hostages it seized last month.
The hostages - from Italy, Britain, Greece and Lebanon - were captured in the northern state of Bauchi.
In an online statement posted on Saturday, the militant group Ansaru said it had killed them.
The group, which emerged last year, is suspected of being an offshoot of the Boko Haram Islamist network.
The seven hostages were seized in a raid from a construction site belonging to the Setraco company. The raid also resulted in the death of a guard.
Ansaru said the hostages were killed because of a rescue attempt by British and Nigerian forces. But British officials said they were not aware of any such attempt.
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