Three Italian soldiers serving in Iraq were killed on Thursday in a roadside bomb attack in the south of the country while a fourth was left seriously injured.
The Defence Ministry said the attack took place on a road to the southwest of Nassiriya, the Iraqi city where Italy's contingent is based, and that a Romanian soldier was also killed. It said the Italians, all members of Italy's Carabinieri military police, were travelling in a four-vehicle convoy when the bomb went off.
Two Italian soldiers and the Romanian were killed instantly while the third Italian officer died later in hospital from his wounds.
The fourth Italian, who remains in serious condition, has been transferred to a US military hospital.
The Italian victims were named as Captain Nicola Ciardiello, 34, who leaves a wife and baby; Franco Lattanzio, 38; and Carol De Trizio, 37. The Defence Ministry said the fourth soldier, Enrico Frassinito, was in a serious but not life-threatening condition.
It said that at the time of the attack, around 8.50 a.m. local time, the convoy was transporting personnel to a local Iraqi police station.The four Carabinieri and the Romanian soldier, 28-year-old Hancu Bogdad, were all travelling in the same vehicle.
Bogdad was a member of Romania's 100-man military police force which is posted with the Italian contingent in Nassiriya.
It was the worst attack on Italian forces serving in Iraq since November 2003, when twelve servicemen and five Carabinieri were killed in a massive car bomb in Nassiriya which also killed two Italian civilians and nine Iraqis. A total of 29 Italian military personnel have now died in Iraq since Italy's mission there began in June 2003.
After the November 2003 attack, two Italian soldiers were killed in gun battles. Seven more have been killed in accidents.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi expressed his "shock and immense sorrow" on learning of Thursday's attack. Pope Benedict XVI also expressed his dismay and condolences, underscoring the "generous and disinterested contribution of international troops to peace and freedom in Iraq".
Italy did not take part in the US-led war in Iraq but outgoing Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a staunch ally of US President George W. Bush, later sent troops for peacekeeping and reconstruction. Italy currently has 2,600 troops there and plans to withdraw them by the end of the year, with 1,000 slated to leave by July.
Bush's administration expressed its condolences on Thursday and at the same time urged Italy to continue its mission in Iraq.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kurt D. Volker told ANSA that the American people wished to express their solidarity with Italy. "It's important that Italy, which has always shown strong determination to help the Iraqi people, continue to do so," Volker said.
Two Iraqi fundamentalist groups subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack. The first group calling itself the Imam Hussein Brigades made its claim on an Islamic website which acts as a forum for movements linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The Imam Hussein Brigades has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks on military convoys in Iraq.
The second group, calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq, also posted a statement on the Internet saying it carried out the bombing. Italian intelligence were examining the documents to see if the claims were credible.
