Wounded American tells of attack by Rome mob

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Praxilla Trabattoni / NBC NewsCalifornia native Nicholas Burnett, 20, stabbed in a pub in Rome where he was on his semester abroad studying at Temple University. By Praxilla Trabattoni, NBC NewsROME -- An American college student suffered a foot-long stab wound and a punctured lung when a mob of up to 50 masked men armed with knives and baseball bats suddenly charged English soccer fans and others in a piazza in Italian capital Rome, he told NBC News.

Local media initially blamed Thursday's attack on hard core fans or “Ultras” supporting soccer team Lazio -- who played English team Tottenham on Thursday -- but two fans of bitter rivals Roma were among a group of 15 detained for alleged involvement in attack, suggesting a different motive.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld Witnesses told local media that the attackers shouted "Jews, Jews" as they laid siege to the bar in a district popular with tourists in an old quarter of Rome, raising fears of far-right, racist violence, Reuters reported.

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