Reports: Italy, U.S. Differ on Agent Death

ROME (AP) - Italy and the United States disagree over the findings of an investigation into the accidental shooting death by U.S. soldiers of an Italian intelligence agent in Baghdad, news reports said Monday.

One report said Italians on the panel were refusing to sign off on the U.S. conclusions.
Italian state TV said both sides were trying for last-minute mediation to reconcile ``contrasting versions'' of the shooting by Italian and U.S. investigators.

The agent, Nicola Calipari, has been hailed as a national hero in Italy since he died on March 4 as he tried to shield a freed Italian hostage he was accompanying to the Baghdad airport shortly after she was released by her kidnappers.

Without citing sources, Rome daily Il Messaggero said the American conclusions ``exculpate from every accusation'' the U.S. soldiers.
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