Six feared dead in Iraq explosion

Six Italians are feared dead from an explosion that rocked the headquarters of the Italian police in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriyah today.

A bomb went off at about 10.40am local time (7.40am Irish time) at the multinational specialist unit in the southern city, police said.

Major Roberto Riccardi, an official with the Carabinieri in Rome, said the building was in flames but details were difficult to come by because communication had been severed.

“We cannot exclude the possibility that there are soldiers under the rubble,” he said in a telephone interview.

Italy has sent about 2,500 troops to help the reconstruction in Iraq.

There was also a report that a US soldier had been killed by a roadside bomb near Baghdad.