Il Manifesto journalist Giuliana Sgrena is freed (perhaps for a payment of €6-7 million) by the Italian military intelligence services (SISMI); officer Nicola Calipari is mistakenly killed at a mobile checkpoint by American National Guard soldiers. Terrorist Sheikh Hussein, leader of a cell responsible for numerous kidnappings in Baghdad, arrested by the Jordanians, later provides his version of what happened that tragic night. After receiving a $500,000 ransom, Hussein hands Giuliana Sgrena over to Calipari and orders them to head to the airport. Shortly thereafter, Hussein reports to the Iraqi Interior Ministry that a blue Corolla (the same model and color as the one carrying the Italians) is a car bomb ready to strike in the airport area. The police alerts patrols in the area. Thus, American soldiers, on duty at a checkpoint, see the Corolla approaching and open fire, killing Calipari. A report by the ROS Carabinieri in charge of the investigation reached the same conclusion in 2006.
