Vatican City, Nov 11, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Pope John Paul II sent a telegram Wednesday to Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, president of the Italian Republic, after a suicide bomb attack in Nassiriya (Iraq) on an Italian military base.
Two vehicles crashed the gate of the Italian military headquarters and one exploded, killing at least 22 people.
The blast killed 14 Italians, 11 "Carabinieri" (Italian police) and three army soldiers, while seven more Italians were wounded. At least 8 Iraqi civilians also died.
“I received with deep sorrow the news of the vicious attack in Nassiriya, Iraq, in which Italian soldiers lost their lives while generously fulfilling their mission of peace,” the Pope wrote.