Nigerian 'mastermind' of British and Italian hostage kidnap dies The police statement said the hostage-takers killed the foreigners "before the arrival of security forces." "Preliminary interrogations of the arrested suspects revealed that the guards protecting the two foreign hostages in Sokoto had been directed to kill them in the event of any envisaged threat," it said. The statement added that the suspects arrested in the initial raid "therefore advised that a rescue operation be immediately initiated, more so as one of them had escaped during the Zaria raid." It said the hostage guards were unable to flee because security agents had already blanketed the area, and that a gun battle broke out when security forces arrived at the building. During the gun battle, it said, "three of the guards were killed while the wife of one of them sustained bullet wounds and was rushed to the hospital." No lives were lost on the part of security forces, though some service personnel sustained gunshot injuries. Police said six people were arrested over the kidnapping, including Mohammed. The statement also spoke of the arrests of three other suspects who had "conducted surveillance on the victims before their abduction." The failed rescue mission, authorised by British Prime Minister David Cameron, sparked a diplomatic row between London and Rome, which complained that it had not been consulted about the operation beforehand. Nigeria's government and security agencies have also come under heavy pressure over the hostages' deaths, and many have expressed doubts over their claim that Boko Haram was behind the kidnapping.