Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Al Qaida has warned the West against trying to rescue
hostages held in North Africa through military means.

Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has reported the death of a
European hostage said to have been killed in a botched rescue attempt.

AQIM said the operation was sponsored by Germany to free a German engineer who had been held in Nigeria.

“We say to the family of the German citizen Edgar Fritz Raupach, the
blood of your son hangs from the neck of your government,” AQIM said in a statement on June 11.

The statement, translated by the U.S. monitoring service SITE, referred to the death of Raupach on May 31 during a failed raid by Nigerian security forces. Raupach was abducted in January in wake of the killing of 185 people in the Nigerian city of Kano, attacks claimed by the AQIM-aligned Boko Haram.

AQIM was said to have expanded its influence beyond North Africa to the Sahel region, particularly Mali and Nigeria. The group has been holding several Western hostages in coordination with Boko Haram, deemed a leading Islamic insurgency network in Africa.

In March, Nigerian security forces conducted a joint operation to
free an Italian and a British hostage. Both captives were killed by Al
Qaida.

“This method of foolishness in dealing with the hostages issues has
proven its failure and led in all cases to the killing of the hostages and
many soldiers, while the serious negotiation style proved successful and led
to their release,” AQIM said.

  Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, Al Qaida reports execution of German hostage in Nigeria, Boko Haram, failed raid by Nigerian forces