10 Italian troops injured in Herat attacks

HERAT CITY (PAN) official said.

After the explosions, gunmen opened fire from a house near the PRT compound, injuring 10 Italian soldiers, the official said on condition of anonymity. He did not provide further details of the incident, but said the situation was brought under control at 2:00pm.

Italian press agency Ansa reported that 15 Italians were injured, quoting parliamentary sources. One blast ripped through the PRT gate and another struck a convoy of foreign troops, said Col. Abdul Ahmadi, the police spokesman for the western zone.

Public Health Director Ghulam Syed Rashid confirmed the deaths of four people and injuries to 24 others. He said the wounded people included four children and a woman and three PRT guards. Three of them are in a critical condition, he said.

Earlier, security officials put the death toll at two, with 26 others wounded. They said there was one suicide attack took place near PRT and another in the Cinema Chowk area.

There are nearly 4,000 Italian troops serving in Afghanistan-led insurgency.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for both attacks, but did not say anything about casualties.

mrh/ma

Visits: 2