The state funeral yesterday for six Italian soldiers killed in Afghanistan was marked by a nationwide outpouring of grief and demands for a withdrawal of troops from the country.

At a ceremony in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, thousands applauded as the coffins of the six dead paratroopers, draped in red, white and green Italian flags, were carried inside by fellow soldiers to a salute from an honour guard. Many in the courtyard outside who were unable to get into the packed ceremony waved Italian flags.

The mass was attended by President Napolitano, the head of state, who knelt before each coffin, a grim-faced Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, and Gianfranco Fini, Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, who was visibly shaken.

Mr Berlusconi shook hands with weeping relatives of the six men, all from the Folgore parachute regiment. They were killed in a roadside bombing last week in Kabul, the deadliest attack on Italy's contingent in Afghanistan and the highest military death toll since 19 Carabineri were killed at Nasiriyah in Iraq in 2003.

During the sign of peace after the blessing an unidentified mourner seized the microphone at the altar and called out: "Peace now." He was taken away by security guards. Mr Berlusconi was accosted by other protesters as he left the basilica who shouted "Troops out now" and "How many more have to die?".

The Kabul attack killed ten Afghans and injured four other Italians. Italy has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, and added an extra 500 for the recent Afghan elections.

After the attack Mr Berlusconi said there would be no unilateral pullout of the contingent but confirmed that the 500 troops sent for the elections would be withdrawn in the next few weeks.

He called on the international allies to adopt a "transition strategy" to allow Afghan forces to take over their own security, adding: "We are obviously anxious to bring our boys home as soon as possible."

The funeral was broadcast live on RAI, the public broadcasting network, as well as on Mr Berlusconi's commercial channels. Flags flew at half-mast on government buildings across Italy and many shops closed as a mark of respect.

The deaths have fuelled a growing debate in Italy over its mission in the region, with newspapers and politicians of the Right and Left pointing out that while Italy's contingent is ostensibly carrying out a peacekeeping mission, in reality it is involved in a war.

There has been a strong streak of antimilitarism in Italy ever since the disasters of the Second World War under the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. The postwar Constitution states that Italy "repudiates war as a means for settling international disputes".

Demands for withdrawal have been led by the Northern League, a key member of Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition.

At the funeral yesterday Umberto Bossi, the Northern League leader, who last week called for all troops to be brought home by Christmas, said: "We sent them there and they've returned dead."

The funeral opened with the reading of a telegram from Pope Benedict XVI expressing his "deep sadness". The pontiff said he prayed for God's support for "those who work every day to build solidarity, reconciliation and peace".

Italian newspaper front pages all carried photographs of Simone Valente, the two-year-old son of Roberto Valente, one of the dead soldiers, wearing his father's red beret as he greeted the arrival of the aircraft bearing the coffins at Ciampino aiport on Sunday with the words "Ciao Papa", apparently unaware his father was dead.

At the funeral many wept as Martin Fortunato, the seven-year-old son of Antonio Fortunato, one of the dead soldiers, got up from his seat to stroke a photograph of his father placed on top of his coffin.

After the funeral the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian equivalent of the Red Arrows, flew overhead in formation trailing the national colours of green, white and red. Afterwards, the soldiers' bodies were taken away for private burials in cemeteries across Italy. In his eulogy Monsignor Vincenzo Pelvi, the chief military chaplain, said the soldiers had died "protecting the local population". He added: "The fallen are heroes."

In an interview with the La Stampa newspaper Jack Straw, the Justice Minister, who has been attending an Anglo-Italian conference in Rome, said: “An exit strategy exists, agreed upon by the international community. We will leave Afghanistan only when objectives have been clearly achieved, and political stability and the country’s security are guaranteed by Afghan forces."

Mr Straw said Britain "appreciates the Italian contribution...It is for complex historical and cultural reasons that our two countries react to losses in different ways".

Angelo Panebianco, a commentator for Corriere della Sera, said that Italian politicians of both Right and Left should bear in mind that the Taleban was "listening to the political debate.......politicians can not treat such issues as if they were internal affairs. We need to make a great effort to make clear to the public just what is at stake: this is not just an Italian problem but a Europe-wide one".

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