Kidnapped agents rescued in Afghanistan

Italian commandos, aided by Nato forces and aircraft, rescued two kidnapped Italian intelligence agents in a daring ambush and gunbattle that left at least nine of the captors dead in western Afghanistan today.

Although both freed Italians were wounded – one of them seriously – Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the operation was a success and could put a dent in Afghanistan’s rising kidnapping industry.

Violence elsewhere in Afghanistan killed at least 31 people.

Among the dead were two Nato soldiers serving with Spain’s contingent and an Iranian serving as their interpreter – all killed in a land mine explosion, the Spanish defence minister said. Three were seriously wounded.

The two Italians, who were described by Defence Minister Arturo Parisi in Rome as working for the Sismi overseas intelligence service, disappeared along with their two Afghan colleagues on Saturday. They were last seen at a police checkpoint in western Herat province.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said the fact that the two were intelligence agents posed an “imminent danger,” which required their rescue.

Parisi told parliament in Rome that Italian forces were aided in the rescue by British, German and US forces, which were monitoring the movements of the kidnappers with a Predator drone aircraft and helicopters.

Nato “very quickly” began receiving intelligence reports on the Italians’ location, enabling forces to launch the rescue mission, added French Brigadier General Vincent Lafontaine, chief of planning for the 40,000 Alliance troops in Afghanistan.

“There is a sort of window of opportunity if you achieve reliable intelligence,” Lafontaine said. “It’s a success story because it was very quickly solved.”

The decision to launch the operation was made after coalition forces determined the kidnappers had started heading south from Farah on Monday morning in two cars, Parisi said.

Italian special forces ambushed the convoy in neighbouring Farah province, sparking a gunbattle that killed at least nine of the kidnappers.

One of the Italians was seriously wounded and doctors were considering whether to operate, Parisi said. The other had broken his shoulder and left collarbone, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Both had been beaten by their captors, said Afghan General Jalandar Shah.

Major Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the Nato force in Afghanistan, said it was not clear if the two Italians were wounded by gunfire from their rescuers or their kidnappers.

The Italians’ Afghan translator was also wounded, and another Afghan, apparently their driver, was killed, Parisi said.

Anthony hinted the driver might have helped in the kidnappings.

The rescue operation “was a heavy defeat for the kidnappers and therefore a warning for the future,” Prodi said in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

“We did not have one moment of hesitation in giving the mandate to those who were in the field to act with the utmost determination,” Prodi said.