A message posted on an Internet forum on behalf of al-Qaida's North Africa branch blames Germany for the death of a hostage being held in Nigeria.
The message, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, accuses Germany of giving "the green light" for the May 31 raid in the north Nigeria city of Kano that killed Edgar Fritz Raupach, a German engineer kidnapped there in January. The message also claims that negotiation would have led to Raupach’s release, though Germany had released a terrorist suspect from prison in lines with the group’s demands for the hostage’s return weeks earlier.
Nigerian authorities later said they had no idea Raupach was inside the compound they raided, only finding him dead from stab wounds after the raid.
