ROME -- Italian opposition parties branded a report that cleared U.S. soldiers of blame for the killing of an Italian agent in Iraq an insult Tuesday and urged the government to press for a fuller investigation.

Nicola Calipari, a military intelligence officer, died in a hail of bullets at a U.S. checkpoint on March 4 as he was driving to Baghdad airport with Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena after winning her release from kidnappers.

A U.S. Army official, briefing reporters in Washington on the preliminary results of the investigation, said Monday that the soldiers had followed their rules of engagement and should therefore face no charges of dereliction of duty.

The probe was conducted jointly with the Italians but the Army official said Italy, a close ally in Iraq, had balked at endorsing the report. Rome disagreed with its findings on the car's speed and whether the Italians kept U.S. troops informed.

The Italian Foreign Ministry declined comment, saying the report was still not official.

Giuseppe Fioroni, a leader of the opposition center-left Margherita party, urged the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to demand full cooperation from the U.S. authorities to determine who was responsible for Calipari's killing.

"A one-sided conclusion absolving anyone of blame that the Italian side does not accept is an insult to the truth and to the memory of Nicola Calipari apart from being a serious act of arrogance toward Italy," Fioroni said in a statement.

Gigi Malabarba, of the Communist Refoundation Party, alleged in a speech in the Italian Senate that the U.S. ambassador in Iraq at the time, John Negroponte, wanted Calipari killed for negotiating with hostage-takers. He admitted he had no proof.

Greens member of parliament Laura Cima called the findings "a big slap in the face for the Italian government" and said it should press for the truth "if it can find any pride at all."

TOUGH TIMING

The report was the latest in a series of U.S. military investigations into killings by American forces in Iraq to have found no wrongdoing by soldiers.

It comes at an awkward time for Berlusconi, who was due in parliament at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) to present a new cabinet after a coalition mutiny over a heavy regional election defeat forced him into a reshuffle.

His decision to send 3,000 troops to Iraq was deeply unpopular and with a general election due next year, he has already said they will start returning home from September.

A U.S. embassy spokesman in Rome said ambassador Mel Sembler was expected to meet Gianni Letta, Berlusconi's chief aide, on Tuesday to discuss next steps.

Calipari, feted in Italy as a national hero, was fatally wounded when he threw his body over Sgrena to protect her from heavy gunfire as their car approached a checkpoint near the airport, where a plane was waiting to fly them back to Italy.

Sgrena, a veteran war correspondent for the communist newspaper Il Manifesto who was wounded in the shooting, also called the findings a "slap in the face" and said the report sought to "lay all the blame on the Italians."

A front-page cartoon in Il Manifesto showed bullets smashing Calipari's tombstone and the words "Friendly Fire 2."

Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted the unnamed Italian agent who was driving and who was also wounded as saying the car was moving at 40-50 km/h (25-30 mph) and was shot at without warning, while the report had it traveling at 80 km/h (50 mph).

After the incident, the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad released a statement saying soldiers tried to warn the vehicle to stop by using hand and arm signals, flashing lights and warning shots. Sgrena has said she heard and saw no warning.

The agents' vehicle was due to arrive in Italy Tuesday from Baghdad for forensic tests in connection with a separate judicial investigation by Rome magistrates.

© Reuters 2005

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