International

Italian Troops Killed in Iraq Truck Bomb Attack

By Ivan Watson, Sylvia Poggioli

Published November 11, 2003 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 20 years ago.

A truck bomb explodes at the Italian paramilitary base in Nasiriyah, killing 18 Italians and at least eight Iraqis. Other than military personnel, the Italian dead include a civilian working at the base and a documentary filmmaker. The attack results in the greatest loss of life for the Italian military since World War II. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

International

Ivan Watson

Ivan Watson is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he has served as one of NPR's foreign "firemen," shuttling to and from hotspots around the Middle East and Central Asia.

Sylvia Poggioli

Sylvia Poggioli is senior European correspondent for NPR's International Desk covering political, economic, and cultural news in Italy, the Vatican, Western Europe, and the Balkans. Poggioli's on-air reporting and analysis have encompassed the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the turbulent civil war in the former Yugoslavia, and how immigration has transformed European societies.