At least 16 Italians were killed in a bomb attack on an Italian base in Iraq on Wednesday, the country’s defence minister said. Hospital officials said seven Iraqi civilians also lost their lives.
Defence Minister Antonio Martino told the Senate in Rome that the Italian victims of the truck bombing in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq included 11 carabinieri or paramilitary police, four soldiers and one civilian.
He said earlier that several people had also been seriously wounded and many more suffered light injuries.
A hospital official in Nasariyah said seven Iraqis had died and nearly 60 had been wounded in the blast, the worst attack against non-United States members of coalition forces in Iraq.
Martino said Italian intelligence services blamed supporters of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for the attack.
The attack followed an audio-tape threat by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last month that mentioned both the US and Italy. — Sapa-AFP