Italian Ambassador killed in attack on UN convoy
Italian Ambassador killed in attack on UN convoyReuters

Italian Ambassador to the Congo Luca Attanasio was killed in a terrorist attack on a United Nations convoy, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The attack occurred in the city of Goma in the North Kivu Province near the order with Rwanda and Uganda, Sputnik News reported.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms with great sorrow the death of Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Luca Attanasio and a carabineer in Goma today. The ambassador and the carabineer were moving in a vehicle of a convoy of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," the Ministry said in a statement.

The attack was reportedly a kidnapping attempt which resulted in the ambassador's death. Two other people, including another Italian national and a driver in the convoy, were also killed in the attack.

The convoy had been on its way to visit a school feeding program run by the World Food Program (WFP).

"WFP will work with national authorities to determine the details behind the attack, which occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts," the WFP organization said. "WFP is in close contact with the Italian authorities through its offices at its Rome headquarters and in the DRC."

The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to several different terrorist and rebel organizations.