Police Officers Attacked During Drug Sweep in Rome

Rome: Some Italian police officers were attacked Thursday during a drug sweep in Quarticciolo, on the outskirts of Rome, police said Friday.

According to Ansa News Agency, the incident began when a man of North African origins, stopped with a woman for dealing drugs, resisted arrest by kicking the officers in an attempt to escape. During the altercation, approximately twenty individuals arrived and assaulted the officers, using pepper spray against them, which enabled the arrested man to flee the scene, police reported.

The man was subsequently tracked down.