Freed Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is offering new details that dispute the U.S. account of the shooting that wounded her and killed an Italian intelligence officer in Iraq.
A U.S. military statement said the car carrying Ms. Sgrena was speeding toward a checkpoint and ignored warning signals after she was freed by insurgents on Friday. But she told Italian media the car was not speeding, and she saw no bright light or signal.
Ms. Sgrena raised the possibility that the United States deliberately targeted her because it opposes negotiating with kidnappers.
The Italian agriculture minister said it is likely a ransom was paid to free Ms. Sgrena, but there's been no official confirmation.
Ms. Sgrena's newspaper, the Communist daily Il Manifesto, opposes the deployment of Italian forces in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the body of the Italian intelligence officer is receiving full military honors and will be given a state funeral Monday.
President Bush has expressed regret and promised a full investigation.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
