Six Italians shot dead in Germany, possible result of mafia slayings

Police in the western German city of Duisburg discovered the bodies of five men who had been shot in the head near the city's central train station in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A sixth, gravely injured man died in an ambulance taking him to the hospital. The crime is being reported as one of the biggest murders in Germany in years.

Photo: Six Italians shot dead in Germany, possible result of mafia slayings

Italian reports suggest the killings may have been a mafia hit job between two rival clans of "Ndrangheta," the Calabrian mafia from southern Italy . Italian news agency ANSA cited police sources stating that the Calabarian police have contacted officials at Interpol and the German police in Duisburg to inform them that the six men killed belonged to Ndrangheta's Pelle-Romeo clan and that the perpetrators appeared to be part of the Strangio-Nirta clan, reports Spiegel Online.

Police spokesman Hermann-Josef Helmich said they were Italians aged between 16 and 39. Unconfirmed reports said they came from Italy 's Reggio Calabria region.

People in the Duisburg area linked the deaths to organized crime, although a police officer said: "We know nothing as yet."

Police were quizzing family members of the victims and an autopsy was being conducted to determine the exact cause of death, informs Deutsche Welle.

Source: Agencies