ROME - A panel of Italian judges upheld the November acquittals of three North Africans on international terror charges, ruling that recruiting suicide bombers to fight against U.S. soldiers is not terrorism, a lawyer said Thursday.

The verdict by the Milan judges, released Wednesday, echoes an earlier one in the case when a lower court judge ruled the actions of the three men were those of guerrillas, not terrorists.

Government officials condemned the latest ruling. Justice Minister Roberto Castell apologized to the victims of suicide attacks and their relatives, saying “there is in me a great feeling of shame, bitterness and powerlessness.”

“At this point, I feel I have the duty to apologize to the hundreds of children, women and men who were massacred by suicide bombers, and to their relatives,” he said in a statement carried by Italian news agencies...

...The judges ruled that recruiting suicide bombers could not be considered terrorism because during an armed conflict the only acts that count as terrorism are “acts exclusively directed against a civilian population,” according to a copy of the ruling given to The Associated Press.

“The recruitment of volunteers in Iraq to fight against the Americans cannot be considered under any circumstance terrorist activity,” it adds...