Italy paid homage on Monday to an intelligence officer killed in Iraq by US forces, giving him a full state funeral as Washington denied suggestions it had deliberately targeted the Italian agent. Nicola Calipari has been hailed as a hero at home after he died while shielding a newly-freed Italian hostage from US gunfire outside Baghdad airport.
Among the mourners at his funeral were Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who sent Calipari on the fatal mission to Baghdad and is trying to reconcile his fervent pro-US policies with demands for the truth from Washington over the shooting.
Hundreds of Italians lined the streets of Rome as Calipari's body was driven to the basilica of St Mary of the Angels and Martyrsfor the funeral, shown live on television.
Soldiers provided a guard of honour and crowds broke into applause as the coffin, draped in the Italian flag, was carried aloft into the packed church.
"It is time to honour the heroic sacrifice of Nicola Calipari, without divisions, all together, without controversy. Let's leave the controversy outside," top government official Gianni Letta said in an address, fighting back his tears.
Calipari masterminded the release of journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who had been held hostage for a month, and then protected her from US fire when their car came under attack as they tried to reach the airport and fly to safety.
Sgrena, who writes for the communist daily Il Manifesto, has suggested they were fired at because the United States opposes Italy's practice of negotiating with hostage takers.
A White House spokesman on Monday rejected the accusation.
"I think it's absurd to make any such suggestion that our men and women in uniform deliberately targeted innocent civilians. That's just absurd," said spokesman Scott McClellan.
The Italian government has made clear that it will continue to support US President George W. Bush despite the killing and will not withdraw its troops from Iraq.
But officials have also rejected US military explanations that its troops fired on the Italians after their car approached a checkpoint at speed and failed to heed warnings to slow down. Calipari worked out of Berlusconi's office and was a highly experienced hostage negotiator who had secured the release of two Italian aid workers taken captive in Iraq last year.
The White House said on Monday it would carry out a full investigation into Friday's shooting, but stressed the road to Baghdad airport was notoriously dangerous.
"It is a dangerous road and it is a combat zone that our coalition forces are in, and oftentimes they have to make split-second decisions to protect their own security and we regret this incident," said McClellan.