Four Italian NATO soldiers have been killed and another wounded in an attack by insurgents in western Afghanistan.
The Italian army said that they were ambushed in the Gulistan Valley in the province of Farah, as they were returning from a mission on Saturday.
They were members of an elite mountain troop unit.
The BBC reports Italy has about 3400 soldiers in Afghanistan, with the deployment set to grow to 4000 by the end of the year.
The deaths brought the number of Italian soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the last six years to 34.
So far this month, 24 NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.