Pope condemns hostage killing in Iraq

ROME – Recalling the horror the nation felt when its first hostage was killed in Iraq, word that a second Italian hostage was slain brought condemnation from the pope Friday and fueled debate over Italy’s role in the war-torn country.

At the Olympics in Athens, Greece, Italian soccer players wore black armbands during their bronze medal match against Iraq in honor of Enzo Baldoni, a 56-year-old freelance journalist. The Italian polo team wore armbands in its 11-7 win and volleyball players wore a piece of black tape over their hearts during their match with Russia.

Late Thursday, the Qatar-based Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera reported it had received a video that appeared to show the killing of Baldoni, two days after an Islamic militant group demanded that Italy’s troops leave Iraq. The Italian ambassador to Qatar saw a still image showing the killing.

“Enzo is no longer here, and nobody can give him back to us, but he is also here among us, thanks to all that he has left us in these years,” Baldoni’s wife, Giusy Bonsignore, said in a statement given to Italian TV. “Enzo lived life with a smile, we’ll keep doing so for him.”

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Italian troops in Iraq, vowing “to combat terrorism wherever and in whatever form it manifests itself.”

Berlusconi defied public opinion when he decided to support President Bush by sending about 3,000 troops to Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.