by Ned Parker
BAGHDAD - Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, just freed from a one-month hostage ordeal, was wounded Friday and one of her rescuers killed when US soldiers opened fire as their speeding car headed toward the Baghdad airport.
The incident, confirmed by the US military and the Italian government, came as the United States sought to hold on to partners in its coalition in Iraq after major defections over the past year.
"At approximately 8:55 pm (1755 GMT), coalition forces ... fired on a vehicle approaching a checkpoint in Baghdad at a high rate of speed," Lieutenant Colonel Mike Caldwell said, reading a statement. "The recently freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was an occupant in the vehicle and was apparently injured.
"The details are not clear at this point. Apparently, a second person in the automobile was killed. Ms. Sgrena is being treated by coalition medical personnel. The incident is under investigation."
The Pentagon confirmed there had been an incident but gave no details.
Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that Sgrena, a reporter for the leftist daily Il Manifesto, had been wounded and an Italian secret service agent killed by US troops at a coalition checkpoint on the way to the airport.
Berlusconi, whose support for the US invasion in Iraq has already proven unpopular, summoned the US ambassador to Italy for an explanation.
The ANSA news agency said two other Italian secret service agents were wounded. It is not known if they returned fire.
Only shortly before, the Italian government had confirmed Sgrena`s release, exactly a month after she was kidnapped near a Baghdad mosque while on assignment in Iraq.
US troops had just officially changed over in Baghdad, with the US Army`s 3rd Infantry Division taking over a week ago from the 1st Cavalry Division, which had been stationed in the capital for almost a year.
In Rome, the immense joy and relief at the news of her release quickly turned to concern and anger.
Sgrena`s brother Ivan confirmed on Italian state television RAI that she had been wounded.
"There`s little to say. The Americans nearly killed her," Sgrena`s companion Pier Scolari was quoted as saying by ANSA.
Il Manifesto named the dead man as Nicola Calipari, saying he was hit while trying to protect the 56-year-old Sgrena.
It was not clear if the tragic incident would affect Italy`s commitment to Iraq, where it has 3,000 troops.
Spain was the first major coalition partner to pull its soldiers from the US-led contingent in Iraq last spring. The Ukraine and Poland have announced plans to withdraw their troops from the war-torn country.
In other developments, Iraq`s main political factions continued haggling Friday over formation of a new governing coalition more than a month after historic January 30 elections.
The two largest groupings -- the main Shiite and Kurdish alliances -- were locked in negotiations over a new cabinet line-up and Kurdish conditions for their support.
A Western diplomat warned that the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, a loose amalgam of religious and secular factions, risked unravelling if the talks dragged on too long.
The Kurds are demanding the presidency for one of their two main leaders, Jalal Talabani.
They also want Shiite support for their claims to the ethnically divided northern oil city of Kikkuk.
"There are almost daily meetings and they are going to be intensified ," said Hussein Shahrastani, a senior Shiite politican and confidant of the majority community`s spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"There is understanding on a number of issues. There is progress."
Shahrastani said there was hope for a deal within a few days.
Meanwhile, outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose list scored third in the elections, affirmed his interest in keeping his job, as a small party bolted the winning Shiite political list.
The defection of the tiny National Coalition Movement from the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) could be a boon for Allawi, whose hopes rest on splitting the Shiite list and then cutting a deal with the Kurds.
As the political bargaining continued, there was no let-up in insurgent violence in Sunni Arab areas, which largely boycotted the January election.
An Iraqi civilian was killed and three wounded in an explosion of a car bomb parked on the street in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, police said.
A similar attack intended for a US military convoy in the main northern city of Mosul left no known casualties, witnesses said.
A police chief was also shot dead near the southern city of Diwaniyah, according to the Polish military which patrols the area.

03/04/2005 21:23 GMT