Three Carabinieri killed in Verona-area eviction blast at farmhouse

Three Carabinieri were killed and at least 12 people were injured when a farmhouse exploded early Tuesday as officers carried out a forced eviction in Castel d'Azzano, near Verona in northern Italy, authorities said. The two storey building collapsed after investigators say it had been deliberately filled with gas and detonated as police forced entry.

The operation targeted three siblings in their 60s who had occupied the abandoned property for about a year and had resisted previous eviction efforts, regional and judicial officials said. Special Carabinieri units and counterterrorism teams were involved because the family had reportedly threatened to blow up the house during an earlier attempt to remove them. Medical teams and firefighters were already present when the blast occurred, officials said.

Verona Prosecutor Raffaele Tito called the incident "an incredible tragedy" and said prosecutors were treating the explosion as a deliberate act. Authorities have detained two of the siblings; a third is being sought, police said. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible premeditated homicide and searched the site for evidence, including gas canisters and items...