Funeral services were held today in Rome for the Italian intelligence agent shot dead by US forces in Iraq. The agent, Nicola Calipari, was escorting Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who had just been released by hostage takers in Baghdad. Sgrena is a reporter for the Communist daily Il Manifesto. She was hit with shrapnel in the shoulder during the attack by US forces. Calipari, who is the international operations chief of Italy’s military intelligence service, was reportedly killed as he tried to shield her from the bullets. In a vivid account, published by her newspaper il Manifesto, Segrena described how Calipari, was shot in the head, writing, “I heard his last breath as he died on top of me.” Thousands of Italians lined the streets today as the funeral procession moved through Rome. Sgrena, is recovering in a Rome hospital and said she was very sad not to be able to attend the ceremony.