The Bologna massacre was a terrorist bombing at the Central Station in Bologna, Italy, on the morning of 2 August 1980.

The bombs killed 85 people and wounded more than 200.

According to the Italian Senate, after its investigation of the Bologna massacre in 2000, the bombers were "men inside Italian state institutions and ... men linked to the structures of United States intelligence."

The far-right terrorist organization Ordine Nuovo has been accused of the bombing, while two Italian secret service agents and the head of P2 masonic lodge, Licio Gelli, were convicted for 'investigation diversion'.

Four Italian fascists, allegedly with links to the security services of Italy and the USA, fled to Britain. They were tried in their absence in Italy, found guilty and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

The Italian government tried to have the four extradited. Britain would not hand them over. The four lived openly in London.

The people behind the terror in Europe were thought to be 'the Stay Behind network'. This was conceived by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and put into operation in 1948 by the National SecurityCouncil which set up the Office of Policy Co-ordination to run it, staffed and funded by the CIA. Ultimately, coordination of the network took place under the auspices of NATO.

Sources : The Intelligence Game by James Rusbridger http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561310085/026-0506763-7956412

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Massacre