Italy demands justice from US for agent death

Agent Nicola Calipari has been hailed as a hero in Italy after he died shielding a newly freed hostage from US gunfire as they drove to Baghdad airport last Friday.

The US Ambassador to Italy, Mel Sembler, met a government official on Tuesday and invited the Italians to take part in an already-announced Army investigation into the incident, which the military said would take three to four weeks to complete.

Fini dismissed speculation that US forces deliberately fired on the Italians, but he said an initial US Military statement on the shooting, released hours after the attack, did ‘‘not coincide’’ with what Italy believed had happened. ‘‘It was certainly an accident,’’ Fini said.

The US Military has said its soldiers fired on the Italians’ car after it approached a checkpoint at speed and failed to heed signals to slow down.

But in a detailed reconstruction, Fini insisted that the Italians had been driving slowly and had received no warning.

He added that immediately after the shooting, US soldiers had apologised profusely to freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena and an unnamed Italian intelligence officer who survived the fire.

US Military said in a statement from Baghdad on Tuesday that US Brigadier General Peter Vangjel would lead the inquiry into the incident.

Sgrena has suggested the Italians were fired at because the United States opposes Rome’s practice of negotiating with kidnappers. The White House has rejected that suggestion.

The Islamic militant group that held Sgrena hostage, said in a tape released on Tuesday, they had rejected offers of a ransom for her release. Italian newspapers have reported that between $6 million to $8 million was handed over by Italy.

Fini on Tuesday gave a long account of Calipari’s fatal mission to Baghdad but made no mention of any ransom. He said Rome had never considered a military swoop to free Sgrena for fear such an operation would endanger her life. —Reuters