ROME -- Italy yesterday sharply challenged a U.S. Army report that had exonerated American soldiers in the shooting death of an Italian intelligence officer near Baghdad.

In a 52-page report released last night, Italian officials disputed U.S. findings about key details of the shooting and said the soldiers failed to provide adequate warning as to the presence of the after-dark checkpoint.

The agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed March 4 when U.S. soldiers manning an impromptu roadblock fired on his car as he attempted to escort an Italian journalist to freedom shortly after securing her release from Iraqi kidnappers. The Italians were making their way to the Baghdad airport along a notoriously perilous road. The journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, was wounded by the gunfire. An Italian agent driving the car was unhurt.

Italian and U.S. officials from the beginning have clashed over whether the soldiers adequately warned the car's occupants and whether the vehicle was speeding. The two governments launched a joint investigation but failed to agree on key details.

The U.S. military, in a report formally released over the weekend, exonerated its soldiers and said U.S. soldiers acted according to the rules of engagement in place for checkpoints. The report blamed the Italians for failing to coordinate their movements in Iraq with U.S. authorities, saying Italian officers made a deliberate decision to keep the hostage rescue secret.

Italians were outraged by the findings, and the government of Silvio Berlusconi announced it would release its own report; copies of that report were presented yesterday to U.S. Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler and Italian officials.

The Italian report concurred that the shooting of Calipari was not deliberate, but it criticized U.S. forces for failing to establish "the most elementary precautions" for vehicles approaching checkpoints.

The report said it was likely that "some degree of inexperience and stress might have led some of the U.S. troops to react instinctively and with little control" to the approaching Italians' car.

Washington and Rome have clashed over whether the U.S. military chain of command was aware of the rescue mission. The Italian report indicated the Americans had to have been aware of the presence of Calipari and other Italian intelligence agents, although they did not necessarily know of the precise nature of their mission.

The onus was on the soldiers to make their roadblock presence known, more than on the Italians to signal their activities, the report said. Italy has been reluctant to inform the Americans of their hostage-negotiating activities, in part because association with U.S. forces might affect the deal -- and also because Italy reportedly is willing to pay ransoms, a practice lambasted by the United States.

The U.S. report maintained that if Italy had better informed U.S. forces of the rescue mission, "prior coordination might have prevented this tragedy."

The U.S. report said a U.S. army captain serving as aide-de-camp to Italian Maj. Gen. Mario Marioli at the Baghdad airport became aware of the arrival of Italian VIPs the afternoon of March 4. About 20 minutes before the shooting, Marioli confirmed to the captain his suspicions that Sgrena had been released and the Italians were en route to the airport, the report said. But Marioli told the captain: "It is best if no one knows." The captain "took this as an order from a General Officer not to pass that information on to anyone," the report said.

The dispute has strained ties between Washington and one of its most loyal allies in the Iraqi war, and senior officials from both countries were struggling to minimize the fallout.

The slain agent "was a hero for the United States, too," but the "terrible tragedy" will not trigger serious bilateral repercussions, Sembler told reporters yesterday.

The dispute has been especially tricky for Berlusconi's government, as the prime minister is loath to challenge Washington but also cannot allow Calipari -- hailed in Italy as a national hero -- or his associates to be blamed for the shooting.