An Italian citizen has been kidnapped in Afghanistan, an Italian embassy official said today.
One security source said the victim was a woman but an Italian embassy official declined to confirm that. He gave no more details.
Three United Nations workers were kidnapped in Kabul in October and held for 27 days before being released unharmed.
The government said the three were held in or near Kabul by a gang of criminals who could have been hired by a Taliban splinter faction that threatened to kill them unless some Taliban prisoners were freed.
The abductions shocked the 2,000-strong foreign community in Kabul and raised fears of a wave of Iraq-style kidnappings.
