Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena, shot and wounded after being freed in Iraq, said yesterday US forces may have deliberately targeted her because Washington opposed Italy?s policy of dealing with kidnappers.

She offered no evidence for her claim, but the sentiment reflected growing anger in Italy over the conduct of the war, which has claimed more than 20 Italian lives, including the secret agent who rescued her moments before being killed.

Friday evening?s killing of the agent and wounding of the journalist, who worked for a communist daily, has sparked tension with Italy?s US allies and put pressure on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to take a hard line with President George W. Bush.

The United States has promised a full investigation into the incident, in which soldiers fired on the Italians? car as it approached Baghdad airport on Friday evening. The US military says the car was speeding towards a checkpoint and ignored warning shots, an explanation denied by government ministers and the driver of the car.

Speaking from her hospital bed where she is being treated, Sgrena told Sky Italia TV it was possible the soldiers had targeted her because Washington opposes Italy?s dealings with kidnappers that may include ransom payments. ?The United States doesn?t approve of this (ransom) policy and so they try to stop it in any way possible.?

According to Italy?s leading daily Corriere della Sera, the driver, an unidentified Italian agent, said: ?We were driving slowly, about 40-50 km/h.

In a harrowing account of her ordeal, Sgrena wrote in Sunday?s Il Manifesto newspaper that the secret agent, Nicola Calipari, saved her life by shielding her with his body. ?Nicola threw himself on to protect me and then suddenly I heard his last breath as he died on top of me?, she wrote. She was hit in the shoulder by a bullet during the assault, while Calipari was hit in the head as he tried to cover her.

Sgrena, a 57-year-old award-winning war reporter who was taken hostage on Feb. 4. while conducting interviews in Baghdad, said there had been no warning from the US forces. ?We thought the danger was over after my release to the Italians but all of a sudden there was this shoot-out, we were hit by a barrage of bullets?, she told RAI TV by telephone.

Although Italy has denied paying kidnappers in past hostage releases, Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno told the Corriere that ?very probably? a large ransom had been paid in this case. Italian newspapers have speculated that anything up to 8 million euros may have been paid.

<B>Punishment and apology</B>

?We need to get the guilty punished and an apology from the Americans?, Alemanno said. ?We are trustworthy allies but we must not give the impression of being subordinates.? Italy?s minister for parliamentary relations, Carlo Giovanardi, also said he did not believe the US version of events.

A national outpouring of grief and anger put pressure on Berlusconi, an ardent supporter of Bush and his war on terror, to get answers from Washington on what went wrong. ?All 57 million Italians who were united in the anticipation of Giuliana Sgrena?s liberation have the right to know what happened?, said Romano Prodi, the former prime minister and leader of Italy?s centre-left opposition.

Berlusconi summoned the US ambassador immediately after the event and will need to present some answers from Washington when he addresses parliament on Wednesday. He led Italy into the conflict in Iraq where it has some 3,000 soldiers, a decision opposed by a majority of Italians and the opposition which is seeking to unseat him at a general election next year and weaken him at regional polls next month.

<B> Robin POMEROY</B>

MOURNING

<B>Body of slain Italian agent gets hero?s welcome </B>

■ The body of an Italian secret service agent shot by US forces in Iraq was flown home to a hero?s welcome early yesterday amid mounting anger in Italy over his killing. Agent Nicola Calipari died while shielding reporter Giuliana Sgrena, just freed after a month held hostage, from US troops who opened fire on their car near Baghdad airport. Calipari?s coffin arrived at Rome?s Ciampino airport at midnight aboard a C-130 military plane. His wife, mother and daughter broke down in tears as his casket, drapped in an Italian flag, was carried out by a guard of honour. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi held both hands up to the coffin, standing motionless in front of the body for almost two minutes before allowing it to be placed in a hearse. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, government ministers and clergy looked on, while 5 of Italy?s 7 national television stations broadcast the return live, underscoring the huge sense of shock and disbelief in Italy over the killing. Calipari?s body lay in state yesterday in the Vittoriano monument in central Rome. He receives a state funeral today.

Italy has proved one of US President George W. Bush?s most fervent allies in Europe, but Calipari?s death has put a strain on relations and Rome has demanded a full investigation. The US military said its forces shot at the car on Friday evening after flashing lights and firing warning shots to try to get it to stop. Italy?s minister for parliamentary relations, Carlo Giovanardi, told state television on Saturday that he did not believe the US version of events. The shooting could rekindle anti-war sentiment in Italy, where public opinion opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Berlusconi defied public opinion by sending 3,000 soldiers to Iraq after the US-led invasion in March 2003 and has rejected past calls to withdraw the troops. Italy?s centre-left, which hopes to unseat Berlusconi next year in elections and to weaken his standing at local government polls next month, is campaigning on a platform of withdrawing.

<B>Christiano CORVINO</B>