[Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: US troops kill rescuer as Italian hostage is plucked to safety in Iraq

[harry.sifton at sympatico.ca]

Harold spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

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Note from Harold:

Peace H
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To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

US troops kill rescuer as Italian hostage is plucked to safety in Iraq
Rory Carroll  in Baghdad,  John Hooper  in Rome and Sam Jones
Saturday March 05 2005
The Guardian


American soldiers in Iraq opened fire on a car carrying an Italian journalist who had just been freed by kidnappers last night, injuring the woman and killing an Italian secret service agent who tried to protect her. 

Joy and relief in Italy at the release of Giuliana Sgrena, who had been held hostage for a month, quickly curdled to despair and anger after the car taking her to the airport was fired on by US forces, who apparently thought they were under attack.  

Ms Sgrena, 57, was hit in the shoulder with shrapnel but the wound was not thought to be serious. The agent who threw himself over her, Nicola Calipari, was killed and two other agents wounded. Mr Calipari was the lead negotiator in securing the reporter's release.  

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, said he was "flabbergasted" by the shooting, which happened at around 9pm, and summoned the American ambassador for answers. Mr Berlusconi has   maintained troops in Iraq despite public hostility.  

"I believe we must have an explanation for such a serious incident ... someone must take the responsibility," he said. The Bush administration said last night it regretted the killing. "We regret the loss of life. The incident is under investigation," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.  

Gabriele Polo, the editor of Ms Sgrena's newspaper, the communist daily Il Manifesto, said staff were celebrating her   release with champagne when they learned of the shooting.  

"This news, which should have be a moment of celebration, has been ruined by this fire fight," Mr Polo told Italian television. "An Italian agent has been killed by an American bullet. A tragic demonstration which we never wanted that everything that's happening in Iraq is completely senseless and mad."  

It was one of the most bizarre "friendly fire" incidents in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.  

"At approximately 8.55pm tonight, coalition forces ... fired on a vehicle that was approaching a coalition checkpoint in Baghdad at a high rate of speed," a US spokesman in Baghdad said. "The recently freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was an occupant in the vehicle and was apparently injured." US troops apparently fired warning shots and opened fire when the car did not respond.  

After countless shootings over the past two years, Iraqis have learned to approach US checkpoints cautiously.  

Ms Sgrena was treated at a US military hospital and is ex pected to go home today. Masked gunmen abducted her near Baghdad's university on February 4 after she had interviewed Sunnis hostile to the occupation. In a video released two weeks ago she was seen weeping as she begged for her life and for foreign troops to leave the country.  

Her plight touched the Italian nation. Thousands marched through Rome calling her for her safe return and football stadiums hung banners reading "Free Giuliana".  

Her release yesterday was unexpected, and the circumstances unclear. Her father was so overwhelmed he needed medical assistance and colleagues at Il Manifesto wept and applauded.  

Speaking to the Guardian last night, Il Manifesto's foreign editor, Angela Pascucci, rejected suggestions that Sgrena had been targeted by the US because she had written about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.  

Last September, two Italian aid workers who were held captive in Iraq for three weeks were freed amid suggestions, denied by authorities, that a $1m ransom had been paid. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited