Red Brigades terrorists, attempting a comeback after being virtually wiped out in 1982, claimed Friday that they assassinated a former mayor of Florence because of his alleged links to the U.S. ”Star Wars” program.
In a leaflet published by the Florence newspaper La Nazione, the communist extremist organization said former Mayor Lando Conti was killed Monday because he has an interest in an electronics firm that manufactures radar and other equipment for military ships and aircraft.
Conti, 52, a close friend of Defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini, was shot to death by gunmen who forced his car to the side of the road just outside Florence.
The leaflet, which bore the Red Brigades slogan and its five-pointed star insignia, said Conti`s firm ”participates directly in the most important weapons systems and principally in the U.S. `Star Wars` system.”
The Italian government has not yet decided whether to accept a U.S. offer to participate in research on the space-based missile defense program.
