The two Italian soldiers kidnapped last week in western Afghanistan were freed Monday during a NATO operation, officials informed.

An official at the Italian embassy in Kabul said the two troopers were injured and were taken to a medical facility, one of them being in serious condition. It is not clear when the soldiers were injured, media speculating they were wounded during the raid.

Italian Defence Ministry officials reportedly said the two men have been injured during the offensive, when at least five of their abductors were killed. The Italians are the first servicemen in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be detained in Afghanistan.

No one claimed responsibility for the kidnappings so far, the Taliban saying they are checking to see whether local insurgents are behind the abduction.

An interpreter and a driver, both Afghans, were accompanying the troops and were also detained in the western Heart province, but the captors released them Sunday.

According to Italian media, the NATO raid took place in the neighbouring province Farah and was conducted by a joint Italian-British force under the ISAF banner. 

A Defence Ministry source in Rome said the two men are members of the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI) and were freed as their abductors were preparing to hand them over to Taliban militants.

Both soldiers have been injured during the operation, one of them being transported to an ISAF hospital in serious condition with wounds to his head and torso. The other one didn’t suffer life-threatening injuries and is being treated at the same medical facility, the same source added.

The incident caused turmoil in the Italian government, several politicians asking Prime Minister Romano Prodi to end Italy’s mission in Afghanistan and bring the 2,290 troops home, but the premier rejected the calls once again.

Insurgents are known for kidnapping foreign civilians in Afghanistan, the number of such reprehensible actions increasing dramatically in the past period. The civilians are abducted and then released in exchange for ransoms or the freedom of other militants detained in Afghan prisons, but the Kabul government rejected any negotiations with extremists.

Thus, foreign governments have been heavily criticized for allegedly cutting deals with Taliban militants in order to secure the release of their citizens. Seoul officials are the latest to be criticized for paying a presumed ransom in exchange for the freedom of 21 South Korean nationals abducted on July 19 in the Ghazni province.