BBC:
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Twelve Italians die in Iraq bomb
Nine Italian police officers and three soldiers have been killed in a truck bomb attack on their base in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya.
Several other Italians and local Iraqis are said to have been injured in the powerful explosion which partially destroyed the building.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi called the bombing a "terrorist act".
Italian paramilitary police - known as Carabinieri - are part of a deployment of more than 2,000 Italians in Iraq.
"Our hearts are with the Carabinieri" Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Italian President
They serve under British command in southern Iraq as part of the US-led coalition.
Until Wednesday, they had suffered no combat-related fatalities.
The blast rocked the police base at about 1045 local time (0745GMT).
Witnesses said the vehicle was driven into the entrance of the building before it exploded.
The Italian defence ministry confirmed the casualties.
US soldier killed
Vehicle bombs have been used in attacks on numerous organisations in Iraq since the war ended, including the United Nations and the International Red Cross.
Nasiriya, a Shia Muslim city that saw heavy fighting during the war, had been relatively quite in recent months.
However, the BBC's Peter Biles says the bombing of a minibus in Basra on Tuesday and the killing of a Polish soldier near Karbala last week point to a possible upsurge of attacks in southern Iraq.
Elsewhere in Iraq, the US military is reporting that another of its soldiers has been killed in an explosion north of Baghdad.
More than 150 US troops have been killed in attacks by unknown groups since major combat operations in Iraq ended.
