Italy prosecutor to appeal U.S. soldier murder case

U.S. Army Specialist Mario Lazano of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 69th Infantry Regiment, poses in New York May 14, 2007. An Italian prosecutor said on Friday he expects to appeal a Rome court's decision to drop a murder case against Lazano, a U.S. soldier who killed an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq.

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian prosecutor said on Friday he expects to appeal a Rome court's decision to drop a murder case against a U.S. soldier who killed an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq.

"It won't be today or tomorrow, but yes," one of the prosecutors, Franco Ionta, told Reuters, asked if he would appeal. Ionta said he would "almost certainly" appeal.

U.S. soldier Mario Lozano, 38, had been tried in absentia for shooting Italian agent Nicola Calipari at a checkpoint outside Baghdad airport in 2005. Calipari, seen as a hero in Italy, had been escorting a newly freed hostage out of Iraq.

The court released its reasoning on Friday for its October verdict, arguing it did not have jurisdiction -- something it said fell to the United States.

Lozano, who was a gunner at the checkpoint, says he opened fire on Calipari's car after the driver ignored warning shots and refused to stop. The United States has exonerated Lozano from blame, describing the killing as a "tragic accident".

(Writing by Phil Stewart, Editing by Matthew Jones)