[JURIST US forces mistakenly opened fire late Friday on a convoy carrying Italian Il Manifesto [newspaper website] journalist Giuliana Sgrena to safety after she had been released from her Iraqi captors. The attack wounded Sgrena and killed an Italian secret service agent. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile] announced that he immediately summoned the US ambassador to take responsibility for the accident. He later stated to Sky Italia television [official website in Italian], "An Italian agent has been killed by an American bullet. A tragic demonstration which we never wanted that everything that's happening in Iraq completely senseless and mad...." The US military has yet to comment. Reuters has more. Il Manifesto has additional background and materials on the Sgrena kidnapping [in English].

5 PM ET - US Central Command has now issued this press release on the checkpoint shooting.