Thousands of people lined the streets of Rome to pay their last respects to the six Italian soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan last Thursday.

The soldiers, along with 10 Afghan civilians, were killed by a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul.
 

Pope Benedict XVI, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the entire cabinet attended the state funeral. Flags were at half-mast on all government buildings throughout the country, one minute of silence was held in Italian schools and many shops in Rome shuttered their windows as a sign of respect.