ROME: Two sons of a jailed Calabrian mafia boss have been killed in southern Italy in what appeared to be a vendetta attack targeting their father, police said on Monday.

The father of Luigi and Francesco Comberiati, Vincent, is leader of a local clan of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta crime family, based in the southern region of Calabria. He was put behind bars several years ago.

Francesco Comberiati, 24, was shot at the wheel of his car while parked near a bar in Petilia Policastri on Sunday night, police said. His brother, aged 29, managed to get out of his car parked alongside but the gunman caught up with him in a restaurant kitchen where he was trying to hide and killed him, police said.

According to the ANSA news agency, the murders are part of a war among ‘Ndrangheta clans for control of drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the region. Italian authorities believe a bloody vendetta between two rival ‘Ndrangheta clans was at the root of the murder of six Italian men in Germany in August.—AFP