Two Italian soldiers who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan have been freed, Italy's Defence Ministry said today.
"In a raid by ISAF forces in the early hours of the morning the two soldiers who had been kidnapped last Saturday have been freed," a spokesman for the ministry said, referring to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force.
The soldiers were injured and had been brought to a hospital, he added.
Italy has some 2,200 troops in Afghanistan. More than 600 are in western Afghanistan running the regional ISAF command.