Deaths on March 4

Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)

Nicola Calipari (June 23, 1953 – March 4, 2005) was an Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer. Calipari was killed by American soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.

During the 1990s, he was involved in several rescues of people kidnapped by 'Ndrangheta and other criminal organizations. He had spent most of his career in the Italian police, rising to a senior position, before joining the Italian military Security and Intelligence Service (SISMI) two years before his death.

Calipari's death sparked one of the most serious diplomatic incidents between U.S. and Italy since the end of World War II. Calipari is one of only five US or European general officers to be injured or killed during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.