Two Italian soldiers feared kidnapped in Afghanistan

ROME (Reuters) - Two Italian soldiers are believed to have been kidnapped while on patrol in western Afghanistan, Italy's Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said they had gone missing along with two Afghans but added the situation was not yet clear.

Italy has some 2,200 troops in Afghanistan. More than 600 are in western Afghanistan running the regional command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi rejected calls by leftists in Italy for a troop withdrawal.

"It is clear that this does not change the Italian government's position on the mission in Afghanistan," he told reporters at the United Nations.

The ministry said it had lost contact on Saturday with the two soldiers, who were operating in the Shindand area of Herat province and were responsible for relations with civil authorities.

At the United Nations, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said had he received personal assurances of help from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

The province where the two soldiers went missing borders Iran.

Karzai told a U.N. meeting he had information on the possible whereabouts of the Italians and would give it to D'Alema, participants at the session said.

"We found a great sensitivity on everyone's part about this," D'Alema told a news conference, speaking after he attended a closed-door session on Afghanistan ahead of Tuesday's U.N. General Assembly ministerial session.

He said all three governments were committed to helping find the Italian soldiers.

TALIBAN

A Taliban spokesman said he was checking whether insurgents had kidnapped the Italians.

An Afghan-based Western security analyst said there were reports the missing men were working for Italian intelligence.

He said the men, together with two Afghan translators, had gone missing in the Shindand area, site of a sprawling former Soviet air base now used by U.S. and Afghan forces.

Herat is one of the most peaceful provinces in Afghanistan, but in Farah to the south there has been a steady rise in Taliban activity in recent months.

Taliban insurgents have suffered heavy casualties in clashes with Western forces in Afghanistan and have switched to suicide bombing and kidnapping to undermine popular faith in the ability of the government and its Western allies to deliver security.

The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans, two Germans and five Afghans in July, killing two Koreans and a German and later freeing the other Koreans. They are still holding the other German and the Afghans.

In May 2005 Italian aid worker was Clementina Cantoni was kidnapped in Kabul and released three weeks later.

In October 2006, freelance reporter Gabriele Torsello was kidnapped near Kabul and released to following month, and in March 2007 Daniele Mastrogiacomo, correspondent for daily la Repubblica, was kidnapped, to be released two weeks later.

(Additional reporting by Philip Pullella at the United Nations)