Joy, anger as Italian hostage home
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 Sgrena returns to Rome after being wounded by U.S. troops. CNN's Alessio Vinci reports (March 5)
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ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italians are celebrating the return of a reporter held captive by Iraqi insurgents for a month, but grieving over the killing by U.S. forces of a security officer who helped negotiate her release.
Nicola Calipari, a veteran security agent who had previously aided the release of other Italian hostages, was shot dead while Giuliana Sgrena was being taken to an airport.
Calipari's body arrived in Rome on Saturday night as top officials including Defense Minister Antonio Martino and Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi stood by.
His coffin was wrapped in an Italian flag and was carried out of the military plane 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, according to Reuters reports.
The married father of two died Friday after the car he, Sgrena and two other agents were riding in was shot by U.S. forces at a checkpoint.
Calipari was killed after he threw his body across Sgrena's to protect her, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said. Sgrena was struck in the left shoulder by shrapnel, and the two other agents were also wounded, he said.
"Giuliana Sgrena, she is free," said the headline in Italy's leftist, antiwar Il Manifesto newspaper, where Sgrena works, but U.S. troops "assassinated her liberator." Another newspaper called Calipari an "007."
The shooting came as a blow to Berlusconi, who has kept 3,000 troops in Iraq, and analysts said it could set off new protests in Italy, where tens of thousands have regularly demonstrated against the Iraq war.
News of the shooting drew criticism from Berlusconi's political foes, who were eager to attack the government for its staunch support of the war.
"Another victim of an absurd war," Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, leader of the Green Party, told the Apcom news agency, according to The Associated Press.
Sgrena's partner said he could not fault the U.S. soldiers, telling Reuters they were probably "scared boys," and the blame lay with those who had sent them to Iraq.
In a written statement, the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces said the shootings occurred when the vehicle carrying Sgrena, traveling at high speeds, "refused to stop at a checkpoint."
"About 9 p.m. (1800 GMT), a patrol in western Baghdad observed the vehicle speeding towards their checkpoint and attempted to warn the driver to stop by hand and arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots in front of the car. When the driver didn't stop, the soldiers shot into the engine block which stopped the vehicle, killing one."
CNN's Nic Robertson said the coalition forces' rules of engagement permit them to use escalating levels of force if they feel threatened. They can use lethal force, for example, if a car refuses to stop for a checkpoint.
The road where the incident took place, near Baghdad's airport, was particularly dangerous, Robertson added.
Sgrena, 56, landed in Rome on Saturday morning. A crowd milled around the plane as Sgrena's relatives and dignitaries, including Berlusconi, boarded the plane to greet her. A few moments later, she emerged, walking with assistance from two men, and was taken to a nearby ambulance.
U.S. condolences
President Bush called Berlusconi on Friday night to express his regrets about the shootings, and pledged a full investigation.
Sgrena and one of the security agents, who was seriously injured, were taken to a U.S. military hospital in Iraq after the shootings. The other wounded agent was shot in the leg, and refused to be taken to a hospital, according to Italian news agencies. The identities of the two wounded agents were not released.
Speaking from Iraq, Sgrena reportedly told Berlusconi's office she was "fine" and would have a light operation to remove the shrapnel from her shoulder. Upon her return, she was admitted to a Rome hospital and was also to face questioning from Italian investigators and prosecutors.
In the wake of the shootings, Berlusconi called U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler to his office for an explanation, and the men were to meet, said State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan.
She said Sembler offered "U.S. condolences and any assistance the U.S. can provide," as did Assistant Secretary of State William Burns in a call to the Italian ambassador to the United States, Sergio Vento.
Berlusconi said Sembler would have to "clarify" the behavior of the troops. "Someone will have to take responsibility," the prime minister said.
He said the two other agents in the car contacted his office after the incident.
"They were in disbelief at the fatality at the end of a brilliantly concluded operation," Berlusconi said. "We were stone silent as we waited to hear of the rest of what took place."
Also Saturday, Reporters Without Borders, the journalists' watchdog group, asked the United Nations to investigate the matter and "shed light on the circumstances" that led to the tragedy.
Italian officials had worked to secure Sgrena's safe release from capture. They did not say how she was freed Friday.
Sgrena was kidnapped February 4 -- one month to the day before her release -- outside a mosque in Baghdad. Later that month, she was shown in a video pleading for her life. Italians have held numerous candlelight vigils calling for her safe return.
Sgrena's co-workers were celebrating news of her release when news came of the shootings, according to a CNN producer at the scene. Their mood was immediately dampened.
Pope John Paul II sent two messages of condolences, one to Berlusconi and another to Calipari's family, the Vatican said, according to AP.
The pope said he was "saddened at the tragic death" of Calipari, and called him a "faithful and heroic servant of the state, who, in carrying out the delicate mission that had been given to him, didn't hesitate to sacrifice his life."
CNN's Alessio Vinci and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
