Free Republic

ROME -- Premier Silvio Berlusconi made an unannounced visit to Iraq early Saturday to meet with Italian troops based in the southern city of Nasiriyah, his office said. The premier flew in early Saturday and was to meet with Italian troops later in the day, his office said. Some 2,900 Italian troops in Iraq to aid reconstruction efforts around the southern town of Nasiriyah. Berlusconi, a conservative ally of President Bush, supported the U.S.-led war and agreed to send troops after the conflict. Italian government ministers have repeatedly said Italian troops will not be pulled out of Iraq early despite...

NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Radical Shi'ite militiamen fought gun battles with Italian troops in the southern town of Nassiriya on Tuesday and two civilians were killed, witnesses said. The violence was part of a surge of unrest led by Moqtada al-Sadr, a cleric fiercely opposed to the U.S.-led occupation. The fighting in Nassiriya erupted at about 4 a.m. (0000 GMT) and continued into the morning. Four Italian vehicles had been burned in the clashes in the Zeitoun district, witnesses said. Pro-Sadr fighters were still controlling the area, near the local headquarters of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Coalition Provisional...

NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) - Italian soldiers of the US-led coalition destroyed the office of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr in this southern Iraqi town, a day after Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi visited the contingent. Residents said the Italians used explosive charges to level the building at dawn in the wake of bloody clashes between Sadr's banned Mehdi Army militia and coalition forces. There was no immediate reaction from Sadr loyalists in the town where Italian soldiers have increased patrols. Berlusconi, a close Washington ally, spent several hours here on a surprise morale-boosting visit to his troops Saturday, telling them their...