Rome - Gunmen shot dead a senior adviser to Italy's labour minister yesterday, raising fears that political terrorism had returned to Italy after more than a decade of relative tranquillity.
Reacting swiftly to the killing of Mr Massimo D'Antona, a lawyer and former government undersecretary, the government raised a security alarm to guard against other potential attacks.
A document purporting to come from the Red Brigades, a guerrilla group that was thought to have been eliminated, admitted responsibility in a statement sent to a Rome newspaper.