Milan police headquarters bombing

1973 attack in Lombardy, Italy

Milan police headquarters bombing
attentato alla questura di Milan

Part of Years of Lead

Some victims of the bombing

Location| Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Coordinates| 45°28′23″N 9°11′32″E﻿ / ﻿45.472997°N 9.192159°E﻿ / 45.472997; 9.192159
Date| 17 May 1973
11am

Attack type

| Bombing
Weapon| hand-grenade
Deaths| 4
Injured| 45
Assailant| Gianfranco Bertoli

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Years of Lead (Italy)

| 1968|

* Battle of Valle Giulia
* 1968 movement

|

1969|

* Hot Autumn
* Murder of Antonio Annaruma
* Piazza Fontana bombing
* Defenestration of Giuseppe Pinelli

1970|

* Reggio revolt
* Golpe Borghese

1972|

* Murder of Luigi Calabresi
* Peteano massacre
* 1972 bombings

1973|

* Primavalle fire
* Milan police headquarters bombing

1974|

* Piazza della Loggia bombing
* Italicus Express bombing

1975|

* Murder of Sergio Ramelli
* Murder of Mikis Mantakas

1976|

* Murder of Vittorio Occorsio [it]

1978|

* Acca Larentia killings
* Kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro
* Killing of Fausto and Iaio
* Murder of Antonio Esposito [it]

1980|

* Murder of Mario Amato
* Bologna massacre

1981|

* Kidnapping of James L. Dozier

1982|

* Salerno shooting

Related|

* Terrorism in Italy

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At 11am on 17 May 1973, a hand grenade was thrown at Milan's police headquarters in Lombardy, Italy.[1][2] It happened during a memorial ceremony there for police officer Luigi Calabresi, who had been shot dead in Milan a year earlier.[2] Four civilians were killed by the blast and 45 other people were injured.[1]

The attacker was Gianfranco Bertoli (30 April 1933 – 17 December 2000), who self-identified as an anarchist was later identified to be a long time informant for the Italian military intelligence service, that he had long maintained links with various anti‐communist and neo‐fascist organizations linked to the Operation Gladio stay behind network as part of the strategy of tension.[3][2] He was arrested at the scene[4] and in 1975 was convicted in relation to the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment.[5] The attack was denounced by various anarchist organizations including Italian Anarchist Federation in a press release almost instantly.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Terrorists 'helped by CIA' to stop rise of left in Italy
2. ^ a b c "ANARCHIST SEIZED IN BLAST IN MEAN (Published 1973)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-06-15.
3. ^ Bale, Jeffrey M. (1996-03-01). "The may 1973 terrorist attack at Milan police HQ: Anarchist 'propaganda of the deed' or 'false‐flag' provocation?". Terrorism and Political Violence. 8 (1): 132–166. doi:10.1080/09546559608427337. ISSN 0954-6553.
4. ^ Sobel, Lester A. (1975). Political terrorism. Vol. 1\. Facts on File. p. 223\. ISBN 978-0-87196-232-4.
5. ^ Britannica Book of the Year, 1976. Encyclopedia Britannica. 1976. p. 441.
6. ^ "Freedom Vol. 34 No. 24" (PDF). 16 June 1973.

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