NASIRIYAH, Iraq -
planning storage and rendezvous point for belligerent elements currently conducting attacks on coalition forces and infrastructure the Pentagon said in a statement from Washington.
The destruction of this structure will deny enemy forces any use of it in the future
officials said in the statement.
The attack in Nasiriyah was the deadliest toll suffered by non-American coalition forces since the occupation began in April, and the first such attack in this relatively quiet Shiite Muslim city. The bombing appeared aimed at sending a message that international organizations are not safe anywhere in Iraq.
Col. Gianfranco Scalas said 18 Italians were killed: 12 Carabinieri paramilitary police, four army soldiers, an Italian civilian working at the base and an Italian documentary filmmaker. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said at least eight Iraqis also were killed. About 15 people were wounded, though their nationalities were not known, Italian officials said.
Unfortunately
it's not possible to exclude the presence of other fatalities
Defense Minister Antonio Martino told parliament.
There were fears of others trapped beneath the debris, and bulldozers worked to clear rubble. As night fell, however, soldiers said rescue efforts had ended.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi called the bombing a terrorist act
while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged that it would not derail his country's commitment to helping Iraq.
Witnesses said the truck driver got past guards after a car ran a roadblock, distracting the sentries.
The truck rammed the gate of the Italian compound and exploded in front of the Carabinieri building, which was the former chamber of commerce building, a coalition spokesman, Andrea Angeli, said.
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