Kabul, Afghanistan – Two Italian military personnel were believed to have been kidnapped in western Afghanistan, and police Sunday said they were searching for the pair and their two Afghan staff.
At a meeting at the United Nations, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told participants he had information about where the Italians were and would pass the information to Italian authorities, said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.
In northeastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, NATO helicopters fired on a group of suspected insurgents in response to a rocket attack. Four Afghans died and 12 were wounded, the alliance said, and officials were investigating whether the dead and wounded were Afghan police or civilians targeted mistakenly.
The two missing Italians, with their Afghan driver and translator, drove through a police checkpoint in the Shindand district of Herat province Saturday, and they have not had any contact with anyone since, said Gen. Ali Khan Hassanzada, chief of police criminal investigations in western Afghanistan.
“The personnel were carrying out liaison activities with local civilian authorities,” the Italian Defense Ministry said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Associated Press he did not know if Taliban militants kidnapped the four.
Kidnappings by independent gangs have increased around Afghanistan following reports that foreign governments have paid large ransoms to free kidnapped citizens.
