THE MASSACRE
Twenty-eight dead: 19 Italians and 9 Iraqis. 23 years have passed since the massacre of 12 November 2003, when a truck loaded with explosives crashed into the Maestrale base in Nassiriya, one of the headquarters of the Italian contingent stationed in Iraq. Among our compatriots, twelve Carabinieri, 5 Army soldiers, an international aid worker and a director lost their lives.
THE WAR
Why were the Italians in Iraq? In March 2003, the invasion of the country began by a coalition composed mainly of the British and US armies to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein, accused of wanting to equip himself with weapons of mass destruction and of supporting Islamist terrorism. By May the operation was essentially over, so the UN asked all countries to support the rebirth of Iraq. Italy participated with the "Ancient Babylon" operation, based in Nassiriya, in the south of the country.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ITALIAN OPERATION
The Italians were there with specific peacekeeping purposes: the main objectives were therefore the contribution to the restoration of public infrastructures and the reactivation of essential services; radiological, biological and chemical surveys; military police; the competition for public order, airport management and reclamation activities with the use of the canine component; support for ORHA activities; control of the territory and fight against crime.
THE ATTACK
At 10.40 local time, 8.40 in Italy, on 12 November 2003 a tanker forced the entrance to the Maestrale base, manned by the Italian carabinieri, in the city of Nassiriya: the two men on board detonated a bomb. The explosion, with a domino effect, blew up the ammunition depot. The Maestrale was reduced to a concrete skeleton while the other headquarters, Libeccio, a few hundred meters from the first, was damaged.
THE CARABINIERE FILIPPA
A decisive role was played by the Carabiniere Andrea Filippa, guarding the main entrance, who intervened promptly, killing the attackers and preventing them from breaking through the entrance: if this had happened, the number of victims would have been much higher.
THE TROUPE
Also involved were the crew of director Stefano Rolla, who was on site to shoot a drama about the reconstruction in Nasiriyah, and the soldiers of the Italian army escorting the crew, who had stopped there for a logistical stop. The name of the drama was Babylon, the land between two rivers. The director died in the attack.
THE VICTIMS
The Italian victims were: Enzo Fregosi; Horacio Majorana; Ivan Ghitti; Domenico Intravaia; Daniele Ghione; Philip Merlino.
VICTIMS/2
Again: Massimiliano Bruno, Giovanni Cavallaro, Andrea Filippa, Giuseppe Coletta, Alfonso Trincone, Alfio Ragazzi.
ITALIAN VICTIMS/3
Then: Massimo Ficuciello, Alessandro Carrisi, Emanuele Ferraro, Silvio Olla and Pietro Petrucci.
VICTIMS/4
In addition to the director Stefano Rolla, the Italian aid worker Marco Beci also died in the attack.
THE STATE FUNERAL
The funeral chapel for all the dead Italians was set up in the Shrine of the Flags of the Vittoriano. The state funeral took place on 18 November 2003 in the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, in Rome, officiated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, in the presence of the highest authorities of the State and with widespread popular participation. The bodies arrived in the basilica escorted by 40 mounted cuirassiers. National mourning was proclaimed for that day.
THE INVESTIGATION
After the attack, two investigations were opened: one was started by the military authorities to verify whether all the necessary measures had been taken to prevent the attacks, the second was opened by the Rome prosecutor's office to identify the perpetrators of the massacre. In the first it was concluded that placing the base in the center of the city, without a forced zigzag route, had been a mistake. The second only confirmed that the van had 400 kg of TNT mixed with flammable liquid.
THE MOVEMENT
The damage to the two bases also forced the Carabinieri, like the army, to distance themselves from the town centre: a few months after the attack, the Camp Mittica base in the former Tallil airport, 7 km from Nasiriyah, was chosen as the new headquarters of the Carabinieri.
THE SUBSEQUENT ATTACKS
The Nasiriyah attack was not the only one: a few months later the Italian soldiers were involved in a clash with the Mahdi Army again in the center of the Iraqi town (6 April 2004). On 27 April 2006, another 4 Italian soldiers, 3 Carabinieri and a member of the army died in an attack caused by an explosive device exploding in the center of the road. Another soldier also died following an attack on 5 June 2006.
