Italy orders DNA tests to identify WWII victims
March 25th, 2010 - 2:25 pm ICT by IANSRome, March 25 (IANS/AKI) Italy has ordered DNA tests on 12 unidentified victims killed by Nazi troops in one of the deadliest massacres during World War II.
The tests were ordered Wednesday by Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa to identify the 12 among 335 Italians killed in the infamous Ardeatine Caves massacre of March 24, 1944. Though the identity of the others were known, the names of the 12 have never been known.
La Russa gave the order during a ceremony to mark the 66th anniversary of the massacre.
The 12 bodies have until now remained in unmarked graves at a mausoleum in Via Ardeatina.
In 1944, at the Ardeatine Caves, German troops were ordered to kill 10 Italians in retaliation for the killing of 33 Nazi soldiers in Rome.
The Nazis also killed five extra Italians kidnapped by mistake to ensure there were no surviving witnesses.
The victims’ bodies remained hidden in the caves for over a year. They were recovered and buried only after the Italian capital was liberated by the Allies.
The Italian Supreme Court in 1998 sentenced two former SS commanders, Erich Priebke and Karl Hass, to life imprisonment for their role in the massacre.
Hass died aged 92 in a nursing home at Castel Gandolfo near Rome in April 2004. Priebke, now 96, is serving his sentence under house arrest in Rome.
–IANS/AKI
pm/mr
- Italian soldier killed in Afghan blast - Jul 12, 2011
- Italy to send military instructors to help Libyan rebels - Apr 21, 2011
- Rapper says Berlusconi stole lyrics - Feb 23, 2012
- Italy not to bomb Libya, says Berlusconi - Apr 16, 2011
- Italy may deploy troops to fight mafia - Apr 29, 2010
- Spielberg fined in Italy - Jul 26, 2011
- Italian politician jumps to death - May 09, 2012
- Italy assigns eight combat aircraft for Libya air strikes - Apr 28, 2011
- Inquiries to probe military aircraft crash: Italy - Nov 24, 2009
- Hate graffiti defaces anti-Nazi museum in Italy - Jan 29, 2010
- Concordia captain must stay under house arrest: Court - Apr 12, 2012
- 97-year-old Hungarian goes on trial for WW II crimes - May 06, 2011
- Mayor in Italy gets 10 kg trash - Jul 02, 2011
- Indian jailed in Italy for killing son - Dec 23, 2011
- Fugitive Italian mafia leader arrested - May 04, 2012
Tags: ardeatine caves, defence minister, dna tests, erich priebke, gandolfo, german troops, house arrest, italian capital, italians, italy orders, life imprisonment, massacres, mausoleum, nazi soldiers, nazi troops, retaliation, rome march, unidentified victims, unmarked graves, world war ii