Probe Dropped in U.S.-Italian Troop Clash on Hijackers
A Sicilian prosecutor said today that his office has dropped an investigation into a confrontation between U.S. and Italian soldiers over custody of the Achille Lauro hijackers.
Giuseppe La Rosa, chief prosecutor in Siracusa, said his office found no evidence that any crime was committed during the standoff at Sigonella air base in Sicily.
U.S. planes forced an Egyptian jet carrying the hijackers to land at Sigonella, a NATO base run jointly by the United States and Italy.
Premier Bettino Craxi later said that 50 Italian soldiers confronted 50 U.S. soldiers headed by a general who wanted to take the terrorists to the United States for trial.
La Rosa said that there had been “tense” moments, but that reports from the police and the airport control tower produced no evidence of a crime.
Four men charged with the Oct. 7-9 hijacking in which an American was killed go on trial on weapons charges Monday. A murder-kidnaping trial will be held later.
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