NATO forces freed two kidnapped Italian soldiers in a military operation in western Afghanistan overnight which left both men wounded, Italian and Afghan officials said yesterday.
The two men went missing in the western province of Herat on Saturday with their Afghan interpreter and driver in the latest in a series of abductions targeting foreigners in the insurgency-weary country.
"There was an ISAF operation and they were rescued. Both of them are injured," the Italian embassy in Kabul said, referring to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
It was not clear who had abducted them, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
One of the two soldiers was in serious condition, the Italian defense ministry in Rome was quoted by Italy's ANSA news agency as saying. Both men were being treated in a NATO hospital, it said.
At least five of the abductors were killed in the raid to free the men, ANSA reported. An Afghan district official said five Taliban were killed but more senior officials would not confirm this.
Italian soldiers led the NATO operation to free them, supported by British troops, Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said on Rai public television.
Asked who was responsible for the kidnapping, the minister said it looked to involve "an independent group."
Police said it appeared rebels from the Islamic extremist Taliban movement captured the men from near Herat's Shindand district and took them to neighboring Farah Province.
"According to our intelligence information, a Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Hamid, had taken them," said Ali Khan Husseinzada, the police chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan.
However, the main Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said he knew nothing about the men. The militia, waging an insurgency, has been behind several abductions including of 23 South Koreans in July.
ISAF said it would release details later in the day.
The men were last seen in Shindand on Saturday. One of their vehicles was found abandoned but the men and the other vehicle had disappeared. Husseinzada said late on Sunday their interpreter and driver had returned to Herat City.
Diplomatic sources in Kabul said the Italians were warrant officers who had been on a routine mission.
There are about 2,000 Italian soldiers in Afghanistan involved in military, reconstruction and intelligence work.
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