Afghanistan: NATO Saves 2, Loses 2 Troops

2 Italians Rescued From Captors, 2 Spaniards Killed In Fighting, 26 Afghans Killed

(CBS/AP)  Two Spanish soldiers died and at least two others were seriously wounded Monday in an attack in Afghanistan, as a NATO-led combat operation secured the release of two kidnapped Italian military personnel in the western part of the country, officials said.
An Iranian interpreter who was traveling with the Spaniards also died in the attack, according to the Spanish Defense Ministry.

The soldiers were in a vehicle targeted in an explosion, the ministry said in a statement.

The attack occurred near the town of Shewan while the soldiers were on patrol, the ministry said. Spain has some 700 peacekeepers stationed in western Afghanistan.

The Italians were rescued just two days after they went missing, officials said. Initial reports indicated at least five of the kidnappers were killed in the operation.

Both Italians were wounded during the operation, one seriously. The two were being treated in a hospital run by NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

"They were freed in an ISAF operation. They were both injured. One is in a more difficult situation than the other," an Italian Embassy official said on condition of anonymity because of embassy policy. "They are free now. They are at a military hospital in the western region."

An Afghan translator and driver who were with the Italians were "found," the official said, adding that he did not know what condition they were in.

NATO troops located the two Italians and attacked the group of kidnappers. Preliminary reports found that five of the kidnappers were killed, though the toll may be higher, the official said.

The two Italians, their driver and translator had been missing since Saturday when they were last seen at a police checkpoint in the Shindand district of Helmand province, Afghan police said.

The Italians' last contact with their base was Saturday night, the embassy official said.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Associated Press on Monday that the Taliban had not kidnapped the Italians. The embassy official said it wasn't clear which insurgent group had kidnapped the Italians.

In March, five Taliban prisoners were freed in exchange for the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist. The head of the Italian aid agency Emergency has said the Rome government also paid a $2 million ransom last year for a kidnapped Italian photographer - a claim Italian officials did not deny.

Meanwhile, ambushes and gun battles around Afghanistan killed at least 26 people, including 12 government employees and unarmed police killed by gunmen in the relatively calm north, officials said Monday.

In a remote area in northeastern Badakhshan province, three unidentified gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying the police and government employees, killing 12 on Sunday, said Badakhshan police chief Gen. Agha Noor Kemtuz.

The attack killed seven policemen and five government employees. They were traveling to Kabul, Kemtuz said.

The police were being transferred to new posts and so were not armed, he said, adding that the violence could have been sparked by a personal conflict between the attackers and the officers.

Militant attacks are relatively uncommon in northern Afghanistan, though the area has seen a handful of suicide bomb attacks this year.

Gunfire killed a NATO service member Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement. It did not provide any details, including the victim's nationality, though the majority of soldiers in the east are American.

Insurgency-related violence has left more than 4,400 dead so far this year, most of them militants, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials.

In western Farah province, insurgents dressed in police uniforms ambushed a supply convoy escorted by private security guards on Sunday. The subsequent gun battle left one guard and 12 militants dead, said provincial Gov. Muhaidin Baluch.

He said several guards were missing, but it was not clear if they were captured or if they had fled and were lost in unfamiliar territory.

An Interior Ministry statement gave a higher death toll of 21 militants and three security guards killed. It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

In the south, a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up near an Afghan army convoy on Sunday in Helmand province, wounding three soldiers, said Gereshk district chief Abdul Manaf Khan.

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