Italy denies US access to military base

Italy denied U.S. military aircraft headed for the Middle East permission to land at its Sigonella air base in Sicily, according to local reports.

A U.S. flight plan for several bombers to land at Sigonella before departing for the Middle East was submitted without authorization or consulting the Italian military leadership, the local newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

It added that the plan had been submitted while the U.S. planes were already in flight. The incident is reported to have occurred a few days ago.