US military investigators have concluded that US soldiers who killed an Italian intelligence agent and wounded a freed hostage at a checkpoint in Iraq were not guilty of any wrongdoing.
A US army official said the United States was ready to release the report but Italy has not accepted its findings and wanted more questions answered.
The agent, Nicola Calipari, was bringing an Italian reporter who had been freed from captivity to Baghdad airport when they ran into a US military checkpoint on the airport road.
The soldiers opened fire on the vehicle, killing Mr Calipari and injuring Giuliana Sgrena.
In a separate development, the Bush administration has confirmed that it has been pressing Iraqi leaders to end the political stalemate that has led to Iraq still being governed by an interim administration, three months after elections were held.
Reports say that senior Kurdish and Shi'ite politicians have been urged by Washington to come together to avert deadlock.
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, told reporters that Iraq deserved a new government and that it was the duty of the country's politicians to keep up the momentum in the process.
