Two Italian soldiers have gone missing in Afghanistan, Italian authorities have confirmed.
Earlier agency reports said two Italians, possibly journalists, had been kidnapped in the west of Afghanistan.
"Contact with two Italian soldiers was lost some hours ago," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "From our checks no journalists are missing, contrary to early reports," it said.
The defence ministry also issued a statement saying two soldiers were missing and their families had been informed.
An Afghan-based Western security analyst said there were reports the two missing men had been working for Italian intelligence.
He said the men, together with two Afghan translators, had gone missing on yesterday in the area around Shindand, on the border between Farah and Herat provinces in western Afghanistan, the site of a large former Soviet air base now used by US and
Afghan forces.
General Alikhan Hosseini, the head of criminal investigations in western Afghanistan, said he had heard on police radio that two foreigners were missing, but could not offer any more details.
The police chief of Farah province said he did not know anything about any foreigners missing in his province and said his forces were currently engaged in a firefight with Taliban rebels.
There has been a steady rise in Taliban activity in Farah province in recent months.
Italy 's prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister were following the situation closely, the foreign ministry said.