Bush regrets killing of Italian in Baghdad

Freed Italian journalist wounded by US fire

Freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who was kidnapped on Feb. 4 in Iraq flied back home Saturday, one day after she was wounded by US troops in Iraq. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

(Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

    ROME, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who was kidnapped on Feb. 4 in Iraq flied back home Saturday, one day after she was wounded by US troops in Iraq.

    A plane carrying Sgrena landed at Rome's Ciampino Airport, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was among the dignitaries to welcome her.

    Sgrena, the war reporter for Il Manifesto daily was freed and handed over to three Italian agents on Friday.

    When the agents were driving her to airport, US soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire on her car, wounding her and killing an Italian agent. The US military said her car did not heed warning of the checkpoint.

    Sgrena was expected to be transferred to a military hospital for an operation on her collarbone later Saturday. Italy is an ally of the United States over the Iraq war and has 3,000 troops in Iraq.

    US President George W. Bush had phoned Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to express his regret over the incident and pledged a full investigation into the shooting accident. Enditem